


Odd Little Wolf

by thecatinthepurplepants



Series: Hetalia Werewolf au [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Early 1800's, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-26 18:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3860317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecatinthepurplepants/pseuds/thecatinthepurplepants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ludwig is a farmer near a small English village and he spends his days raising pigs, growing hops and wheat, and making beer. Other than his older brother and Antonio, who have their own farms near his own, he doesn't really have many people to keep him company. Then he gets a dinner guest in the form of a hungry little wolf, and after a few days of the wolf coming to see him, he finds that he enjoys having the little guy visit him. That is until he gets quite a surprise one morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dinner Guest

**Author's Note:**

> 10/11/15 Edit: Sorry for being so slow with the next chapter, I'm also writing something else for this au because why not turn this into a series of works and probably bite off more work than my unmotivated self can chew? Anyways, I drew [a little something](http://thecatinthepurplepants.tumblr.com/post/130921516719/so-heres-feliciano-lovino-and-alfred-in-their) to partially make up for being so slow. I hope you guys like it!

The mid summer night outside the cottage seated on the edge of the woods was still and warm with the heat of the day that had now passed into pleasant darkness, only illuminated by the light of the stars and the beacon that was the full moon hanging overhead. Inside a tall, blonde man stood at his cast iron stove, stirring a pot full of bubbling tomato sauce while another pot of pasta simmered on the back as the noodles softened. Ludwig looked out the open window next to the stove in his kitchen and breathed in the sweet summer air as it mixed with the aromatic scent of the sauce on the stove, His hair was a little disheveled from a long day of tending his fields, taking care of his pigs, and checking his distiller. 

He was a very busy man but it was worth it, he was able to afford his own stove after all. He had always been one to value the rewards of hard work, he’d built this house himself with help from his older brother, Gilbert, and his neighbor, Antonio. In return he helped them when they needed it, whether it was helping bring in their harvests, assisting them in slaughtering their livestock, or lending a hand in bringing a cow or horse to market or to an auction to sell. The three of them lived fairly well, his brother farmed pigs like him as well as goats, chickens, cows, and ducks. He wasn’t one to have the patience for growing crops so he mostly stuck to livestock, and he did very well with it too. His chickens were prized in the village market for their hardiness in winter, for laying eggs for most of their life with usually little to no problems, and for having enough meat on them to be a full meal for a small family. Antonio’s tomatoes were the best on the countryside and the horses he bred were some of the best tempered and easiest to work with than most had ever seen. Ludwig didn’t know how he did it but any animal that came into contact with Toni was almost always guaranteed to come away more tame than it was before. He didn’t have the heart to slaughter livestock for their meat so he kept to growing tomatoes, herbs, and raising horses. 

Ludwig bred and raised pigs, grew hops for making his beer, and wheat that went mostly to the bakery for a good price. He made damn good money from his crops and livestock, his pigs were fat in the places they needed to be and lean in others and made delicious sausage. Not to mention his beer went for a high price, he even sold a large batch of beer to a high society buyer, he thought his name was Roderick or something. He remembered him being kind of a pompous ass, not that he would say that to the face of such a good paying customer. He rested the wooden spoon he was using against the side of the pot and stretched his arm above his head with the other bent behind his neck, his shoulder popping uncomfortably. He sighed and messaged the joint, for a 23 year-old he felt a whole hell of a lot older in his bones than he was in actuality. Francis had told him when he went into the village to his bakery to get his noodles and bread that if he kept working as hard as he did he was going to give himself grey hairs and Ludwig was starting to suspect he was right. But what could he do? He had a farm to run and friends that needed help every five minutes, or at least that’s how it seemed to him.

He went back to stirring the sauce and checked the noodles one last time, when he determined that they were done he dished himself up a plate. When Toni had given him a basket full of tomatoes as a “thank you for being a good neighbor and giving me that wonderful fertilizer from your pig manure” gift, as Toni had put it, he didn’t know what to do with them all at first. But after asking him about some good recipes and taking his advice in making pasta with tomato sauce he could see why he loved the red fruit, it smelled delicious. He dared to say even better than his wurst but that was a bit of a long shot. But he did make a lot for just one person, he couldn’t measure out pasta servings for shit, he even had some sauce and noodles leftover to give the pigs a treat in the morning.

It was right as he had sat down to eat when he heard a bark and the sound of a clawed paw scratching at his front door behind his seat at the dinner table, which was big enough to seat four but only one chair had the varnish worn down where Ludwig sat every day and night. He sighed heavily and grumbled to himself about how one of the neighbor dogs must have wandered off. But that didn’t seem right because almost all of the people who lived near him, near being about a five mile radius, had their dogs tethered in their yards or kept behind a garden fence at this time of night. Just to be cautious, he took his shot gun down off the wall in case the dog was rabid. He opened the door a small ways, so the dog couldn’t just barge in, and stuck his head out to see exactly who, or rather what, his late evening visitor was. He looked down to see what he assumed was a wolf-dog hybrid, it looked like a wolf but it was about the size of a fairly large German shepard. It had rust red fur on the top of it’s back, head, and tail and white fur on it’s belly and all it’s paws except for the front right one, which was the same auburn color as it’s back. It had a tuft of oddly long hair on the top of it’s head that had a long curl sticking out from it and ran down the back of it’s neck into the longer hair around its shoulders that was the small mane that wolves had. They wolfdog looked up at him expectantly, its tongue lolling out of it’s mouth happily and it’s eyes squinting as if it were half asleep.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at the mut, “What do you think you are doing here, dog? Go home, it’s too late for you to be wandering around to people’s houses.” He said in his heavy German accent, he did his best to sound stern with it to make the dog get the idea that it wasn’t welcome here and go home. But the only thing he got from it was the dog cocking it’s head to the side and letting out a confused whine at him, its tail thumping on the ground a few times unsurely. Ludwig groaned in frustration, “No no, _go home_ little dog. **_Shoo_**.” He barked the command at the dog, who just paused for a second as if to calculate how to react, wagged its tail, and yipped back at him like it was trying to copy him. Despite himself he found himself smirking and chuckling under his breath, he had to admit that the dog was pretty cute, even if it was annoyingly persistent. He propped his gun up on the wall next to the door frame, opened the door more, and crouched down in front of the dog, holding out his hand in a loose fist to let it sniff him. 

He smiled a little wider as it sniffed his hand and nudged it with his nose like it was commanding him to pet it. He complied and scratched in between his ears, his strong, calloused fingers almost disappearing in the tuft of soft, fluffy fur. The dog let out a content huff and thumped its tail, or rather his tail, Ludwig could see he was male now that he was closer, against the dirt a few more times. But the dog’s attention was pulled away from Ludwig petting him, he sniffed the air coming from Ludwig’s house and peered around him and into the doorway curiously. He sniffed more deeply and seemed to be excited by what he smelled, licking his chops, wiping his tail back and forth, and shifting his weight from one front paw to another like he was dancing. The dog looked up at Ludwig and whimpered at him imploringly, fully exposing his eyes for the first time. They were a warm brown, almost golden color and Ludwig thought he saw an odd spark of almost unsettling human intelligence behind them before he figured he was just imagining things.

He laughed at the dog’s eager but not impolite reaction to smelling the scent of his dinner from inside his house, it was like he was asking for some. Most dogs would have to be stopped from barging into the house to find the source of the smell but this one seemed to be very well trained. He patted the dogs head, “So you want some of my dinner, huh?” He asked the dog, to which he replied with another whine and his tail wagging a little faster. Ludwig shook his head with a smile, “Well lucky for you I have some extra. You’re lucky I like dogs so much, furrball.” He stood and the dog barked excitedly, spinning in a circle and starting to follow Ludwig into the house. Ludwig stopped the dog with a firm hand in his path, “No no, stay here.” He ordered. The dog’s ears drooped but he did as he was told and sat in the doorway with a disappointed grumble.

Ludwig went into his kitchen, which was right next to the dining room with no walls separating them so the dog was able to peek around the doorway and see what he was doing as well as look around what was the first floor of his little house. Ludwig came back to the doorway with the plate full of pasta smothered in spiced tomato sauce, the dog did another excited pirouette in the doorway when they saw him coming. He set the plate down in front of him and right as it touched the floor the dog started digging in like it was the first meal he’d ever had in his life. Ludwig could barely blink before the plate was empty of it’s contents and the dog was sitting back to lick his chops. The once white fur around the dog’s mouth was now slightly stained red from the sauce and he looked almost as if he was smiling lazily up at the human who had given him food. Again, Ludwig figured he was imagining things and bent down to pet the little wolf’s head again. The dog licked his wrist in what he assumed was a thank you gesture and wagged his tail happily, “You know, it isn’t healthy to inhale your dinner like that, you will give yourself a stomach ache doing that.” He scolded in a joking manner. He chuckled when the dog grumbled back at him and nudged his arm in response, he couldn’t help but think about what an odd dog this was. He found himself wondering where it came from. 

But before he could get too deep into his thoughts he heard a lone wolf howl in the distance, it sounded to be coming from the woods next to his house. He and the little wolf both looked over towards the woods but his attention was drawn back to the dog in front of him when he returned the howl with his own. He sounded more high pitched than the wolf who had called to him first, Ludwig wondered if this wolf was just a puppy and that’s why he was so small for one of his species. The little wolf looked torn between staying with Ludwig to be petted and pampered or going into the woods to the wolf who had called to him. He quickly licked both of Ludwig’s cheeks as if to say goodbye, it vaguely reminded him of how those in Italy said hello and goodbye to each other. And then just like that the little wolf was gone, running off into the trees. Ludwig saw him look back when he was on the edge of the treeline before he bolted into the shadow of the underbrush.

He looked into the woods for a second more before he sighed, picked up the plate, wiped the wolf slobber from his face with his sleeve, and stood up, letting out a small grunt of discomfort as his knees popped upon straightening them back out. He looked back over his shoulder one last time before he shut the door to go back to his dinner. He had never met a wolf who lived in the wild that was friendly towards humans, he’d dealt with wolves trying to make a meal out of his pigs before and they were never so tame. He had a nasty set of scars on the right side of his chest to prove that fact from the claws of a wolf who managed to get a swipe in before Ludwig landed a shot to the wolf’s shoulder and sent it running. He snorted as he shut the door, thinking to himself that Toni must have interacted with the wolf before he came to his house, that man could charm any animal into being a well mannered housepet. He sat back down at the table and started to eat his pasta, which was now a little colder but still warm. 

As he ate he thought over his meeting with the strangely tame wolf and found himself hoping that he would come back again, he did love dogs but they were always either too rambunctious or too lazy to meet his lifestyle or they just avoided him. He had several dogs in his childhood and they never really liked him, he was usually too intimidating, even as a child, and he would scare them. The dogs always liked his older brother Gilbert better but he hated them, they chased his various pet birds that he kept. He knew it would be wrong to snatch the little wolf away from his life with his pack, but if the wolf decided to stay with him then he would gladly take care of him. 

What he didn’t realize is that he would get that exact wish the next day when his dinner guest decided to join him again once he had finished all his usual daily duties, as well as helped Toni get one of the horses that got loose. Again. He had just started to make potatoes and sausage that night for dinner when the wolf showed up at his door. This time he let the wolf come inside and sit beside him in his kitchen while he cooked and when it was done Ludwig gave him a plate of it. Even though the little wolf didn’t eat it as enthusiastically as he had the pasta he still seemed to like the food he made. But just as he had the night before, the little rusty colored wolf was called back to the woods by the howl of one of his own kind, he licked both of Ludwig’s cheeks, and ran into the dark.

The little wolf showed up the day after that too, and the day after that, and the next, and the next, and so on for about two and a half weeks. He showed up earlier and earlier every day, sometimes finding him at the barn with his pigs or checking his distiller and announcing that he was there with a bark before sitting and watching him work. Then they would head back to his house for dinner, the little wolf came inside with him and sometimes looked around at the things he had in his house as he cooked or just sat or laid at his feet. He enjoyed the company the wolf gave him, he seemed to like to take naps in the middle of the day but was very happy to do whatever it is that Ludwig wanted. He would sometimes hold one sided conversations with him throughout the day. But every day the wolf would be called back into the woods and every day he would plant two quick, slobbery kisses to both of his cheeks in the manner that reminded him of Italians. He decided to give the wolf a sort of name to go by because of that way of saying goodbye he had, he called him “little Italian”. He didn’t seem to mind it and even started to respond to the name. 

Then there came a night when little Italian didn’t need to say goodbye to Ludwig, the call for him to go home never came. Ludwig and his little wolf sat in his sitting room just off the kitchen where he would light an oil lamp on a table next to him for a source of light. Ludwig was reading a book he checked out from the library in the village that was run by a shutin who was said to be fond of the drink, he recalled his name being Arthur, Arthur Kirkland. He sat in the rocking chair he inherited from his mother with little Italian sleeping contently next to him on the floor where Ludwig would sometimes reach down and pet his head or shoulder. When it got late he stood with a long stretch and ruffled the tuft on his wolf’s head to wake him, “Come on, little Italian. Time for bed, I suppose you’ll be staying here for the night.” He said as he set his book down next to his lamp, lit a candle, and blew out the lamp. Little Italian yawned and grumbled at him, unhappy at having been woken up. He followed Ludwig around as he shut and locked his front door, he usually had it open when the wolf was there so that he would have a route of escape if he got scared for whatever reason. 

Then they went upstairs, he figured that the wolf would be sleeping next to his bed for the night. They went into his room where Ludwig left the door open behind them so the wolf could wander through the house if he wanted to. Ludwig washed his face and hands in a large bowl of cold water across the room while little Italian hopped onto his bed, flopped down, and rolled around on the Ludwig’s bed before he settled on his back with a huff of content. Ludwig shook his head and chuckled, so much for sleeping _next_ to his bed. He didn’t mind sharing though. He started to change into his nightclothes by the flickering light of the candle on his nightstand and when he was done he looked back to little Italian to see that he had his eyes covered with his front paws bashfully. This earned another laugh from Ludwig, the dog might have been strange but it was at least an entertaining kind of strange.

He settled under the covers next to little Italian, who curled up next to his legs as if he had been a loyal, tame farm dog all his life. Ludwig blew out the candle at his bedside and settled back against the pillows, letting his breathing settle into an easy rhythm that matched that of the wolf sleeping next to him.

* * * 

His arm felt heavy, like it was asleep. And a little warmer than usual, it felt odd. Ludwig blinked his eyes open, taking a second for his vision to clear before he could clearly see the log rafters overhead. What was going on with his arm? He looked over and saw auburn and his drowsy brain processed it, at first, as little Italian laying on his arm and a small smile flicked at the corners of his lips before he patted the side of his head softly. The fur felt just as soft and fluffy as it did the night before. Little Italian nuzzled his arm in response but his nose didn’t really feel wet like a dog’s usually did against his arm. It didn’t feel much like a snout either. When he looked back down at what he thought was his wolf’s head he was finally starting to wake up and he now noticed that there was a part in that fur. And that fur wasn’t fur, it was _hair_. 

He looked down more and saw that even though the color of the hair was familiar, the rest was definitely _not_ his wolf. He saw bare human shoulders, thin, tanned human arms wrapped around his strong, pale one, and the rest was covered by the sheets but it definitely wasn’t his dog. He yanked his arm away from whoever it was, which seemed to jostle them awake because once he did they let out a startled yelp. Before they could sit up Ludwig slammed a hand into their chest, okay _his_ chest, seeing that it was completely flat, and pinned him roughly to the bed with the other hand balled in a fist and drawn back, ready to punch the living shit out of the intruder. The man under him threw his hands in front of his face, letting out a high pitched, panicked shriek. Ludwig was furious, who did this man think he was? Who just sneaks into someone else’s house and slips into their bed with them, and _naked_ no less? He was probably either completely nuts or some weird pervert who got his gross thrills this way, possibly both.

“Who the hell are you?! How did you get into my house, _du bastard_?!” He roared, prepared to throw him out the second story window next to his bed if he gave the wrong answer.

The man unblocked his face to look up at him, his hands shaking and his eyes, which were squinted to the point where he couldn’t see their color, welling up with tears, “I-I’m sorry! I swear I didn’t mean to change while I was sleeping, please don’t hurt me!” He was going about a mile a minute and his voice was a terrified screech that was thickly overlaid with an Italian accent.

Ludwig was losing his patience with the man, “You’re not making any damn sense! Tell me who you are or I beat you and toss you down the stairs!” He yelled back at him.

The stranger screamed again and shook his head, “PLEASE DON’T BEAT ME! I’m your dog! I’m your dog little Italian!” He cried.

Ludwig stopped, he was crazy if he thought that he was his dog, but no one even knew he had a dog yet. And no one knew what he called that dog for that matter. Had this guy been spying on him or something? “What the hell are you talking about?” He growled, his knuckles turning white as his fist itched to make contact with the man’s face.

But all his rage died in an instant. The man underneath him had shifted in appearance, his human characteristics became more and more canine and his ears grew long and pointed, shifting to the top of his head. Where his hand had once been touching bare skin on a stranger’s chest, it was now touching underbelly fur on his wolf. Little Italian was now who laid below him, not some strange man. Ludwig blinked, slowly got off of the wolf, and sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, “I’m going fucking crazy.” He mumbled to himself. He did not just see that man change into his wolf. That man was not little Italian. When he turned around to look again, he would not see little Italian sitting behind him. He tried to convince himself of all that and more to no avail because when he did turn around he now saw the man from before who was now slowly losing the features that once made up little Italian.

“I’m very sorry I couldn’t tell you, I thought it would scare you or confuse you to know that I wasn’t just a wolf. And grandpa told me that we had to hide what we are from humans, for our safety.” He explained, his voice a melancholy whisper as he pulled the sheets up to his chest like he was trying to hide himself.

Ludwig took a deep breath to steady himself, feeling his head spin with questions that needed to be answered. He figured he’d get some of the important ones out of the way now. “Okay, now I want you to tell me _who you are_.” He demanded. 

The man, who was now apparently his dog as well, looked down at the bed like he was trying to find where to start, “Well, my name is really Feliciano Vargas. I live with my pack, right now we’re just a couple miles from your house in the woods.” He informed, still sounding timid like he was afraid Ludwig would explode at any moment.

Ludwig ran his hand through his hair, trying to take all this in the best he could but his overly practical brain just couldn’t accept the idea that there was a man who was also a wolf sitting in his bed. “Alright. Now, exactly _what_ are you?”

Feliciano cocked his head to the side, “But didn’t you just see me-?” 

“I know, but I just need to hear specifically what you are.” He interjected sternly.

The smaller man flinched, “S-sorry mister. I’m what you humans call a werewolf, but we call ourselves half wolves. I can change into… the wolf you call little Italian whenever I want to.”

“Whenever you want to? So, I’m guessing that whole thing about the full moon is a bunch of _kuhscheiße_ (bullshit) zen?” He said with a forced laugh.

Feliciano was wringing the blankets that covered his lap in his hands, “ _Sì_ , it is. I don’t know why you guys just assumed that, probably just because your eyes can see us better when the moon is full so most of the times we’re seen is during the full moon. And because we like to go on runs during the full moon. It’s not good for hunting but it’s just… nice. I can’t really explain the feeling to a human that well but it just is.” He babbled a little and cut himself off once he realized that Ludwig was waiting for him to stop talking so he could ask another question.

Ludwig grunted in recognition of what he said but other than that didn’t really seem like he wanted to continue that line of conversation, “Why did you do this? Why did you pretend to be a dog, eat my food, act like you were just a brainless house pet only to show who you really are to me two weeks later? Was this just some kind of joke your kind pulls on humans?” His voice boiled with barely contained anger and his fists were clenched so tight as they rested on the bed next to his thighs that his knuckles turned white.

If Feliciano looked like he _might_ cry a few moments ago when he was scared for his life then he looked like he was _definitely_ going to cry now. The tears in his eyes threatened to spill over and his voice was back at a panicked pitch, he shook his head frantically, “No no no! I would never do that to you! I came here when I smelled the pasta you were making, it smelled so good and I was hungry so I came to see if you would give me some! But you were so nice to me, so I came back and had dinner again and it was nice to listen to you talk to me and to watch you cook so I kept coming back whenever I had the chance to sneak away from the pack! I swear I didn’t want to hurt you or make you angry at me, _signore_! (mister)” The tears finally spilled over onto his cheeks, Ludwig silently watched him and wondered at what point his life took a turn and he ended up with him starting the day with a crying naked man who was actually his dog in his bed. “ _Mi fratello_ told me it was a bad idea to sleep over! I’m bad at keeping to one form without concentrating and I switch in my sleep but I forgot I just wanted to stay here with you!” He sobbed and babbled frantically.

Ludwig rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what to do to help the stranger who was getting tear stains on his sheets. He sighed heavily, “Calm down, while I still don’t sink that what you did was very… Vise, I can tell that you didn’t mean any harm by it. Although I don’t see your logic, you said your kind is in hiding so why did you come here for dinner in the first place? It sounds to me like you when against a direct order.” He was stern but not angry anymore, he felt himself starting to come to terms that, yes, this was really happening so he might as well deal with it.

The half wolf wiped his eyes with the sheets he still held to cover himself and sniffled pathetically, but he wasn’t bawling his eyes out anymore so that was a blessing, “Like I said, it smelled good and I was hungry. I knew you would either think I was just a wolf dog mix or just a dog, most humans do. Me and _mi fratello_ go to people’s houses sometimes to ask for dinner in our wolf forms, we’re both very small for those of our kind so people aren’t scared of us or suspicious of us. I usually get food by just being nice so it’s easy, but he’s not as good at it. But even if he isn’t good at it he still insists on coming with me or being nearby just in case, sometimes hiding in the bushes or at the next house over. I think he went to the person on the farm next to you a few times but he doesn’t ever talk about it.” He explained, looking down at the bed, Ludwig made a mental note on the side to ask Toni if he’d been visited by a wolf at any point. He sniffed again, “I understand if you don’t want me here anymore now that you know what I am.” He mumbled.

This made Ludwig think for a bit, sure it would be odd to continue to think of Feliciano as a pet but he did make for good company. He spent a lot of hours on his farm with nothing but the pigs for company. Having Feliciano around provided some much needed, albeit one sided, conversation that wasn’t with his arrogant older brother or Toni. He sometimes talked to Francis and his apprentice Matthew at the bakery when he was buying something or selling them some flour but it usually ended up with Francis hitting on Matthew in French and Ludwig, as well as the poor young apprentice, being very uncomfortable. He ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to get it back into some semblance of order and turned his body on the bed so he was sitting sideways to talk to Feliciano directly. “If you want to come back during the day to visit or to have dinner I can’t stop you. It is actually… very nice to have someone to talk to and have dinner with again. But I do have some conditions, the first is that when you come here when I am working you can start to help, if you want to. The second is that if you get an order from… Your alpha or whoever is in charge of your pack to stop seeing me you will follow it. I don’t want you getting in trouble for seeing me or to have someone decide that I’m a target because of it. And the third is that you’re going to have to wear some clothes when you decide to change into your human form.” He listed them all off on his fingers one by one and as he did Feliciano’s eyes widened to reveal the familiar golden brown color of his irises and a bright smile spread across his face, Ludwig could have sworn he saw the long curl of hair on his head bounce like it was dancing.

When he was done listing his conditions off Feliciano threw himself at Ludwig and wrapped his arms around him with surprising strength for someone so small and started spewing out a steady stream of “thank you”s into Ludwig’s nightshirt. Ludwig discretely covered the smaller man’s ass with the sheets again, Feliciano uncovering his lower half when he jumped at him. He hoped he wasn’t too red in the face from that glimpse of fairly nice looking rear he got, Feliciano’s face was currently buried in his side so he couldn’t see anyways. He looked up at Ludwig with an easy smile, “Can I ask one thing from you now?” He asked cheerfully, his mood seeming to switch just as easily as the rest of him switched from man to wolf.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at him, “What is it?” He replied.

Feliciano finally let him go and sat up, the sheets keeping him mostly covered this time, save for a whole lot of hip peeking above the blanket but Ludwig tried not to focus on that, “Can I know your name? I never really caught it and I didn’t really ever have the chance to ask for it before.” He requested.

Ludwig chuckled, “Of course, my name is Ludwig Beilschmidt. It’s nice to finally meet you, Feliciano.” He said, finally starting to fully calm down from his initial panic and anger. He held out his hand for the other man to shake, but instead Feliciano took his hand, leaned in, and kissed both his cheeks. 

“Ve! It’s nice to meet you too, Ludy!” He said cheerfully. Ludwig got the feeling that he was going to have to get used to having his personal space invaded.


	2. Meet the brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ludwig gets to meet the vulgar, angry soul that is Feliciano's older litter mate. Also, Antonio is there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long chapter for a meager amount of plot progression but it has Feliciano shamelessly drooling over Ludwig and Lovino being the epitome one of those angry chihuahuas that thinks it's way bigger than it is and tries to attack bears and shit. So enjoy that.

“But Ludy!~” Feliciano whined petulantly.

“Feliciano you said you vould help me today.” Ludwig replied dryly, scooping another shovel full of the muck into a wheelbarrow.

Feliciano let out yet another whine that was more dog than human and slumped even further over the wooden, splintering wall of the pen so that he was almost folded in half at the middle. “But I _always_ take a _siesta_ at three in the afternoon! If I don’t I feel tired and grumpy.” He complained. Ludwig was always so busy and he wanted to help him but he also wanted a nap. He’d always taken one at around three, it was just a habit of his as well as common practice where he was from. Half wolves weren’t even usually all that active in the daytime, the most they did was laze around and chew the marrow out of bones. But Feliciano loved the daytime, he could see the colors of flowers so much brighter in the sun and it was always so much warmer. Not to mention that all the humans were out and about in the daytime. He loved to watch how humans went about their lives at a distance, they were just so interesting to watch. Except when all they wanted to do was work.

Ludwig sighed as he stuck his shovel into the ground, “Can’t you just have your _siesta_ an hour or so later today? I need the help, I have ten pens to shovel and I’ve been neglecting them for too long because I’ve been busy making sure the crops will be ready to harvest later this summer. It’ll take me a lot longer with just me doing it.” He said mopping the sweat off his brow with a rag from his pocket.

He thought about it, humming and biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. He really just preferred to stand back and watch, Ludwig was always quite the sight when he was working. He was muscular and strong and Feliciano could see almost everything through the white shirt he wore as he worked, lord knew Lovino got an ear full of Feliciano’s gushing when he went back to the pack every night about how strong and nice Ludwig was. But when he was also involved in the working he was less enthusiastic. Feliciano liked it better a few days ago when Ludwig still thought he was a dog. Then he had a stroke of genius, “What if I go get one of your neighbors to help us so there’s not as much to do? _Mi fratello_ doesn’t talk about him much but he said that the man that lives next to you is nice! I think his name is Anthony or something.” He offered, it would be a good excuse for him to finally meet the man Lovino knew but seemed to be cagey about talking extensively about. Feliciano had tried to ask questions about him while they were on the way home but Lovino always got snippy and accused his twin of being nosey before storming off. 

Then it was Ludwig’s turn to hum thoughtfully while he mulled that over in his head, he sighed and shook his head in resignation, “His name is Antonio, I know him fairly well. Sure, if he is not busy and if you can convince him to come then bring him over to help. Just tell him that you are my new farm hand or something.” He said as he scooped another shovel full of muck into the wheelbarrow.

Feliciano clapped happily, “Ve! I’ll be right back!” He sing songed as he hopped down from the side of the pen and ran off, his arms extended like he was imitating a bird. He heard another sigh from Ludwig behind him as he ran but he didn’t pay it much mind, he did that a lot. Feliciano was able to run a lot faster than most humans due to being part wolf but he chose to jog at a slower pace and savor the feeling of the warm breeze on his face, arms, and one of his shoulders. He was wearing one of Ludwig’s white, tunic style shirts and a pair of brown work pants he managed to dig out of his wardrobe from when he was about 15 or so. The shirt was huge on him so it hung off one shoulder no matter what he did but the pants were quite a comfortable fit, he could move freely in them but they still fit to the point where he didn’t even need a belt. He forgot to wear clothes to Ludwig’s house again, but then again, Ludwig still didn’t like it even when he wore clothes he usually wore when he was with his pack. Apparently wrap around skirts ending above the knee made of deer skins weren’t “real clothes”, as he put it. Humans were weird sometimes, why’d they have to wear so many clothes in the summer when it was so hot out? And from what he saw it was even **worse** for the female humans, the poor things had to wear corsets, full length dresses, petticoats, stockings, and a whole menagerie of things even if it was hot out. He wondered why that was. The female half wolves could wear as much or as little as they wanted and if anyone commented on it then they would be the ones licking the numerous bite and claw wounds they would get as a result.

He thought of all the differences between humans and half wolves he’d noticed, both wonderful and less than wonderful, while he jogged through the field of browning grass between Ludwig’s house and the house that belonged to, oh what was his name again? Antwan? Eh, close enough. As he approached he started to hear a familiar sounding barking and an oddly soothing voice, thickly laced with a Spanish accent. He had to go around the building, his house faced the opposite way Ludwig’s did, and he peered around the corner. He saw his littermate trotting along next to a handsome Latino man with golden brown skin, carelessly tousled, wavy chestnut brown hair, a gentle smile, and emerald green eyes that lit up and crinkled a little at the corners when he laughed. The man was carrying a basket of bright red tomatoes cradled in the crook of one arm and scratching between Lovino’s ears the way Feliciano knew he loved and he almost thought it was a trick of the light but he swore he saw his brother _wag his tail_ in response to the affection. Sure he still had that sour look on his face that was even there when he was in his wolf form but Feliciano had only seen him wag his tail in rare situations, many of which were when Lovino was asleep. Feliciano remembered that he wasn’t there to spy on Lovino and Ludwig’s neighbor, Andre, so he shook his head and walked out from behind the house to wave at them.

The man looked confused at first but after a second he resigned to just smile and wave back at the stranger approaching him. Lovino stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes and looked like he wanted to bolt for the nearest tree cover, apparently embarrassed to be seen interacting with what's-his-name. Feliciano bounced over to him and stopped a few feet away, “Hello, _signore_! I’m Ludwig’s new farmhand, Feliciano, he wanted to know if you could come over and help with shoveling the pig pens if you aren’t too busy.” He explained, rocking on his heels and trying not to look at Lovino directly. He was sure to start snickering if he looked his brother in the eyes, he looked like a startled squirrel that didn’t know which direction to run. 

“ _Hola_ , I didn’t know Ludwig hired someone, he always seems so stubborn when it comes to working alone. But with all he’s done for me lately I’d be glad to help him, just let me put these tomatoes away. You can say hello to my dog while you wait, he’s a real _cariño_. (sweetheart)” He said cheerfully as he headed inside with the basket of tomatoes in hand, humming what sounded like some kind of upbeat Spanish song.

Once he was in his house Feliciano let out the laughter he was barely containing while what's-his-face was was with them. Lovino growled at him and glared at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. His body language and tone was basically wolf for “Piss off and leave me alone asshole.” Wolves did have a sort of loose language that was more based in body language and tone more than actual pronunciation of syllables. Half wolf language when they were in their wolf forms was sort of like that but a bit more complex, it did have a certain degree more of complexity in pronunciation and combinations of sounds that could mean different things. That combined with body language and tone made up how they communicated in their wolf forms, but they also learned what would be considered “human languages” on top of that for communicating in their human forms.

Feliciano finally caught his breath long enough to get some words out, “Lovino, I didn’t know that you’re a sweetheart?” He teased. Lovino responded by snarling and snapping his teeth at his brother’s hand, making him have to jump back a little as he continued to giggle at him. “ _Mi dispiace_ (I’m sorry) Lovi, I’m actually really happy for you! You seem to really like him as much as I like Ludy, why didn’t you tell me about him before?” He beamed at him, fidgeting with excitement for his brother and the nice new friend he seemed to have made. It was quite a big deal for him, seeing how Lovino didn’t really have any friends amongst the pack save for Feliciano and he didn’t really count seeing that they were twin brothers.

Lovino let out a huff and grumbled angrily, hunching his shoulders and looking at the ground. This roughly translated to “Because it’s none of your damn business.” in half wolf speak. His brother frowned at him but didn’t question him, he didn’t want Lovino to go into another one of his hissy fits and accidentally switch forms. His temper tended to make his ability to switch a tad more unstable. Then Lovino sniffed in Feliciano's direction and growled, he let out a few snarls and barks accompanied by some accusatory body language to ask him just what the hell he was doing wearing that human’s clothes when they were soaked in his scent. Well, he didn’t quite say human as much as “potato bastard” but with Lovino, when he was talking about Ludwig, the two terms were practically interchangeable. 

A light dusting of color flooded into Feliciano’s tan cheeks, “Don’t make it like that! You know I told you he doesn’t like what we normally wear in the pack so he lent me some of his clothes!” He objected. Lovino always had to accuse him of doing indecent things with Ludwig whenever he came up in conversation. So what if a half wolf usually only wore another person’s clothes covered in their scent if that person happened to be their mate? He wasn’t purposefully marking himself with his scent or anything like Lovino was insinuating, scent marking was nothing to joke around about. The humans really didn’t seem to understand it based on how Ludwig was confused as to why Feliciano was so flustered when he first offered him the clothes. 

Lovino just responded by letting out a huff and glaring at some imaginary object in the distance, his way of saying “whatever, just shut up”. Feliciano dropped the conversation and waited for the Spanish man to come back. He exited his house a minute later, “Alright, let’s go help Ludwig. You can tell me a little about yourself on the way, I haven’t seen you around the village at all. Did you just move here or something? You sound like you came from Italy, if I’m not mistaken.” He asked casually. They started to walk in the direction of Ludwig’s barn, Lovino followed behind them quietly.

Even if it was just a casual question Feliciano’s mind raced, he was a terrible liar so if he tried to tell a completely made up cover story he would probably raise suspicion. Lovino knew that better than anyone else, Feliciano could feel him staring at him like he was trying to will him to be a better liar with nothing but the sheer force of his anger He decided to just tell _most_ of the truth, but leave out some things. “Um, yes, I am from Italy. Me, my twin brother, and my grandpa Roma all moved to England a few years ago and we’ve been sort of moving around a lot ever since.” He explained, surprising himself with how he was able to keep a mostly steady voice as he spoke. He heard Lovino let out a barely audible sigh of relief behind him. 

Spanish guy nodded and hummed thoughtfully, that easy smile on his face never faltering once, “I’m also an immigrant, I came here from Spain many years ago as a young man. Or at least a younger man. Ludwig and his older brother, Gilbert are immigrants too, but from Germany. I met them on the ferry to England and we’ve just stuck together ever since then.” He sounded nostalgic, like he was reliving that time when he was in a new country, barely more than a child, when he was glad to find friends in two equally lonely German boys.

The new information about Ludwig caught Feliciano’s attention, “Really? I never knew they came here from Germany. Ludwig fits in so well and he’s so respected by everyone in the village that I just assumed he had always lived here. But now that I think about it, it does explain the German accent.” He pondered.

“Yes, he has made his niche here. People love his sausages and they love his beer even more. He makes a good living for a farmer.” The Spanish man said, petting Lovino as he spoke. The wolf next to him jumped a little but tried to act like he normally did despite the fact that his damn brother was holding back giggles.

He continued, bringing Feliciano’s attention away from Lovino again, “By the way, Ludwig may be intimidating but he’s a good man. Even if he’s respected by the people in town he doesn’t have very many friends except for me and his brother. It’s good to know that you’re keeping him company, he spends too much time alone. He’s going to end up a shut in at this rate.” He laughed lightheartedly as if he was just having casual conversation and not borderline gossiping about one of his friends.

Feliciano smile back at him, “Don’t worry, I’ll be his friend and keep him from getting too lonely over there on his farm!” He heard his brother growl softly from the ground at him, he hated it when Feliciano showed too much attachment to Ludwig. Feliciano didn’t know why that was exactly, so he chose to just ignore it.

Antonio let out another laugh and patted him on the head, getting another slightly louder growl from Lovino, “Thank you, Feli, I know I can trust old Ludwig in your hands. Make sure he doesn’t work so hard all the time, _sí_? The guy needs to learn how to have fun.” He ruffled Feliciano’s hair affectionately which made him giggle and that, along with him suddenly deciding to give Feliciano a nickname, made Lovino outright snarl at the both of them. It made the man look down at him with a concerned look in his green eyes, “What’s gotten into you? I thought you were done growling at me like that, _perrito_. (little dog)” He sounded so sad, not angry like most people would be if their dog had suddenly acted aggressively towards them. His crestfallen tone was enough to make even the usually fiery and obstinate Lovino whine a little and droop his ears.

Feliciano swore he was going crazy because he couldn’t have possibly been seeing Lovino lean into the Spanish man’s hand while he petted him in a sign of forgiveness. Oh, he was going to never let Lovino growl his way out of explaining this one later. But they were approaching the barn so that would have to wait. Feliciano ran ahead of the other two into the warm, none too pleasing to smell shade of the barn, “Ludy! I brought your neighbor!” He yelled cheerfully into the space, startling a couple of the pigs and making them grunt before they settled back down. 

Ludwig leaned out from the stall he was half done mucking to look down the alley between the two long lines of stalls. He stepped out and shut the door behind him, setting down the shovel and wiping his hands off on his pants, “Good, thank you Feliciano-” He was cut off by Feliciano flinging himself into him with all his weight in a sudden hug. Ludwig barely stumbled backwards despite Feliciano’s best attempt at bowling him over. He was used to Feliciano’s random intervals of deciding to be overly affectionate and invade Ludwig’s personal space so he just sighed and patted him on the head.

Feliciano sniffed and looked up at him with a frown and a crease between his eyebrows, “Ew, Ludwig you smell like pig shit.” He complained.

The taller man rolled his eyes and disentangled himself from Feliciano’s thin but surprisingly sturdy arms. The kind Spanish man and Lovino were starting to head through the barn towards them, Lovino had his head down and his hackles raised as he trotted ahead. He was going straight for Ludwig until he got closer and seemed to notice that Ludwig was very, very tall and much more muscular than him. But that didn’t stop him from growling at him with all his teeth showing in a snarl. The most reaction Ludwig had to his aggression was to raise his eyebrow and slowly start reaching for his shovel just in case the wolf in front of him got aggressive. He glanced up to the man coming down the aisle towards them, “Antonio, it’s good to see you. I didn’t know you had a dog.” He commented, still keeping an eye on the snarling animal in front of him.

Antonio smiled and scratched Lovino between the ears which made his growling falter and stop, “And I didn’t know you had a farm hand.” He retorted with that warm laughter following after. “He showed up at my door a few weeks ago around dinner time, he’s been showing up every day ever since. I don’t know where he goes but he seems to be inclined to run off at a certain time every night, I don’t really mind so long as he keeps coming back. He isn’t very friendly with strangers but he really is _un precioso perrito_ (a lovely little dog), no?” Lovino looked away and laid his ears back, letting out an embarrassed little grumble. 

Ludwig grunted in recognition of what he said while he looked over the little wolf that was very similar in size and shape to Feliciano when he was in his wolf form. He even had that same curl of long hair and oddly shaggy patch of fur on his head that lead down the back of his neck into a neck ruff. The only difference was that the white dots of his eyebrows were pointed down into a ‘V’ like he was constantly glaring and the brown part of his coat on his back was a darker auburn. The part of his coat that would have been pure white on Feliciano was a very light tan color. Not to mention his eyes were a sharp green, not soft, honey brown like Feliciano’s. Feliciano could see him analyze his brother and wondered if he would piece together that he was meeting his littermate on his own. Eventually he tore his eyes away from the wolf and walked over to a storage room for tools across the way from where he had been standing and pulled out two more shovels and two large buckets. “Alright, time to get to vork. Feliciano, you’re helping too.” He announced. 

Antonio took the bucket and shovel with a smile but Feliciano slumped over, he was really hoping to avoid all that working nonsense by bringing over Antonio, “But do I _have to_ , Ludy?” He whined. 

While his “farm hand” was too busy complaining to notice, Ludwig noticed that Antonio was looking at Feliciano strangely. He wasn’t acting the way a hired farm hand should and it looked suspicious. Ludwig really didn’t want to have to, he hated that heartbroken look he got on his face when he did, but he needed to be stern with him to get the point across. He hardened his expression and squared his shoulders, forcing the bucket and shovel into his hands, “Feliciano, I wasn’t asking you, I was _telling_ you. Get to work or I cut your pay for slacking.” He commanded. 

He saw Feliciano shiver like he’d been hit by a sudden gust of cold wind, but oddly enough his cheeks suddenly dusted pink. Then he lowered his head and walked over to one of the stalls reluctantly, feeling more than a little hurt by the sudden coldness but he also felt a little of something else that was a bit confusing that he couldn’t really place. There was a deep rumble of a growl heard coming from Lovino’s direction. “Yes, Ludy…” He replied softly in a voice that made Ludwig’s chest squeeze with sympathy and guilt. He made sure to keep it off his face, he hoped that bit of acting was enough to keep Antonio from thinking of him as anything other than hired help.

Antonio worked in one stall, humming as he worked with Lovino pretending to be napping outside the stall when he was really glaring at Ludwig, and Feliciano worked with Ludwig in the stall across the aisle way. When he was sure that Antonio was distracted by work Ludwig leaned over to the smaller man, who was being very quiet for himself, “I’m sorry I snapped at you like that, Feliciano. Antonio sinks you’re a hired farm hand and I needed to play the part of boss for a bit while he’s here. Can you forgive me?” He asked in a whisper.

Feliciano looked up at him for a second, and after seeing the genuine apologetic look he held in his light blue eyes, smiled softly and did that thing where he nuzzled his face into the nearest part of Ludwig he could reach, which happened to be his bicep. He replied in an equally quiet whisper, ignoring his brother making angry noises from the aisle, “Yes, I forgive you. I promise to play the part of farm hand better.” He assured him with his usual cheery disposition returning. He then thought of how Lovino was constantly growling at him earlier, and was still growling at him but he was trying to ignore that. “Oh, and sorry for _mi fratello_ being so mean to you, he’s just a bit overprotective of me is all.” 

This got a surprised look from Ludwig, “So that is your brother? I sought he looked a lot like you. What’s he doing hanging around Antonio like a pet?” He asked, keeping the conversation discreet as possible.

Feliciano shrugged but he had a smirk on his face that said that he knew more than what he was about to tell, “I don’t know, but they seem to get along pretty good, don’t you think?” He asked, his voice raising just a hair for his brother to hear from the aisle. The loud snarl he got in response made him snicker, he didn’t even have to see his body language to know that Lovino was cursing up a storm. 

Ludwig couldn’t help but smile just a little too, but then a thought seemed to cross his mind, “Is he going to tell Antonio about what, or rather who, he is eventually? It kind of seems wrong and a little weird for him to just spend all this time around him without letting on that he’s really a person.” He pointed out to him quietly.

Feliciano tried not to take offence to that even though he knew that it wasn’t really aimed at him, “I don’t know, it’s bad enough that one human knows and Lovino is a little more focused on keeping the big secret than I am. Sometimes I just forget that there are barriers between our species but it seems like he never does. But if we do happen to meet a nice human while we’re in our wolf forms and they do that thing where they scratch behind your ears, well, we’re still technically part dog. We can’t help it. Our wolf instincts aren’t as close to the surface as a regular wolf but they’re still there. And if we find ourselves feeling loyal to a human in our wolf forms then it’s a little hard to show them what you really are because you know they’d change how they saw you and maybe even want nothing to do with you.” He explained, trying to accurately tell him how the situation felt from the end of the half wolf. 

Ludwig took in all of what he said and nodded in understanding, “Hm, I guess I can sort of understand. But there’s still no guarantee what he wont slip up and accidentally change in front of Antonio like you did with me.” He pointed out, glancing over to the wolf outside the stall they were in as he spoke. 

Feliciano chewed the inside of his cheek pensively, “He’s more careful about that than me too, but he does have… issues with anger. If he gets too mad he can accidentally switch forms, but Anderson or what ever his name is seems to make him pretty happy so I don’t really think there’s a big chance of that happening.” He whispered hopefully, half trying to convince himself of that as well.

Ludwig started shoveling again with a small sigh, “It’s Antonio and I hope you’re right about that.” He mumbled. 

With that the two of them went back to working with some banter between the two of them, humming from wherever Antonio happened to be working, and quiet growling from Lovino whenever Ludwig and Feliciano made too friendly of a gesture towards each other. Feliciano would have to ask his brother later why he was making such a stink about everything. After about an hour they were all done mucking the stalls and they all smelled like sweat and pig shit. Feliciano swore that he was going to scrub his skin raw and roll in every patch of wild herbs in the forest to get that smell of of him. Then it was time to get all the pigs back in their stalls for their dinner. That was going to be a lot more interesting. The ten pigs were all either breeder sows or butcher hogs, meaning that they were all at least three hundred pounds. Ludwig raised some good sized pigs but with their size came the challenge of getting them to cooperate using nothing but a bucket full of feed, left over food scraps, and various other things that composed the dinner slop. 

Ludwig had to convince Feliciano to help, he was terrified that he was going to get run over, or attacked, or eaten by the giant hogs. They were huge compared to him! Ludwig might have been strong enough to stand his ground with them but Feliciano was half his size and very unused to dealing with pigs in any way other than with pieces of them being served to him as food. Antonio agreed to help out, he had gotten most of his daily chores done for the day and he didn’t mind doing the rest a bit late in the day. He seemed to show no fear towards the pigs, Feliciano wished he could have had that kind of courage.

The three of them went out into one of the fenced in yards he kept the male pigs during the day when they went out to root around in the dirt and mud, the one on the other side of the barn kept the sows. Ludwig guided Feliciano around and taught him how to stay just ahead of the pig, dump the slop in the trough, and shut the door behind the pig while they were busy. Antonio could almost just scratch the pig in between the ears and have them happily following behind him whether he had the bucket of slop in his hands or not. Lovino sat outside the fence of the yard and watched with partial interest. Sometimes they would need an extra slap on the butt to make them go into the stall, which Feliciano was hesitant about doing at first because what if it hurt the poor piggies? But Ludwig assured him that it wouldn’t do anything other than just surprise them a little. Other than that the first side of the barn was taken care of pretty easily. 

Then came time to move the sows. Ludwig warned him that it would be more of a challenge than the males because the sows were either pregnant, in heat, or just plain mean to any human shaped thing that came into the pen with them. This time Lovino opted to be inside the pen with them, most likely to be there in case something happened. Feliciano didn’t know if his brother was more concerned about him or Antonio, though. But he was also pretty sure that if Lovino wasn’t worried about him, Ludwig made up for it. Sure, he wanted Feliciano to help but he was also acting like a concerned mother.

“Feliciano, make sure you keep your hands away from her mouth, she likes to bite. And don’t make any sudden or threatening movements, she could charge.” 

Feliciano nodded, “Um, what would a threatening movement even be?” He asked uncertainly, he was trying to both listen to Ludwig and back up with the slop at the same time and the pig seemed to be getting angry that the food kept moving away from her. 

“Nevermind, just be careful. If she looks like she’s going to charge just drop the bucket and get out of the way.” Ludwig shouted from where he was leading his own pig into a stall with practiced ease.

Feliciano wanted to reply with another question as to what it would look like if she was about to charge when the pig in front of him let out a sharp snort. He jumped and yelped, dropping the bucket by accident. Then the sow was coming at him and all he could think to do was scream and run from her. He heard Lovino start barking across the yard and the sound of another feed bucket hitting the ground with a heavy thunk. Before he knew what was happening Ludwig had scooped him up with one arm hooked under his knees and the other around his back and shouted something in German at the pig. It was enough to make the pig turn tail and run in the opposite direction, hell it even sent a shiver of fear up Feliciano’s spine. Well, at least he thought that was fear. 

The barking had stopped but Feliciano’s blood was pounding in his own ears. He had to wipe the beginnings of tears out of his eyes quickly, he always cried easily when he was scared. Ludwig let out a huff and turned his attention to the man in his arms, “Are you alright, Feliciano?”

Feliciano nodded and sniffled a little, trying to will his heart rate to slow down, “Sí, Ludy, I’m okay. Thank you.” He replied quietly. He rested his head on Ludwig’s shoulder, he needed a moment to get himself to calm down. 

But the moment was short lived when he heard a threatening growl come from the ground. It was, of course, Lovino who was looking up at the two of them with his face twisted into a snarl. He looked like he was on the verge of exploding with anger. Feliciano gave his brother a pleading look and flicked his eyes meaningfully over to Antonio who was starting to come over after having taken care of the pig he was feeding in the stall. Lovino looked over to the Spaniard too and his hackles slowly went down, he gave Ludwig one last glare before he stalked over to Antonio who looked fairly concerned. Feliciano breathed a small sigh of relief, he was sure that Lovino was about to have a full blown temper tantrum and blow his cover. “What happened? I heard a lot of screaming.” 

Ludwig let Feliciano down to stand on his own, “Yes, a sow just got impatient and decided to charge at Feliciano is all. Would you mind getting her fed and in her stall? I’ll take care of the last three.” Antonio nodded and went to do what Ludwig requested, “Feliciano, you can sit back while we do the rest.” He said while patting him on the shoulder before he walked away to get the last of the pigs in their stalls for the night.

Feliciano didn’t need to be told twice, that scare had made him realize just how tired he was from all that work. Not to mention he’d ended up missing his siesta entirely. He perched himself on the fence of the pig yard and watched Antonio and Ludwig work, Lovino decided to sit at his feet with his ears laid back like he was irritated. Feliciano was worried that his brother would explode with all the pent up anger he had, he hoped that he would at least do it away from humans. 

The two half wolves sat at the fence and watched the human farmers work, Feliciano kicked his feet and would sometimes bump Lovino on the shoulder or head on accident. Lovino was being very quiet, it would have made Feliciano worried if he wasn’t too busy watching Ludwig work. It wasn’t like watching him lift things or do other hard labor when he was all shining sweat over muscles that Feliciano gushed to his brother about regularly. Lovino had told him that it was weird that he could stare at someone like that and then talk about it in such a shameless way but Feliciano didn’t care, he did what he wanted. It was just interesting to see how he worked with the pigs he’d raised from the time they were born. He would sometimes talk about the pigs and their individual personalities and temperaments to Feliciano when all he saw when he was around them was just a bunch of pigs. It was kind of weird to him but Feliciano guessed that getting to know the animals came with being a farmer. 

Once all the pigs were fed and in their stalls it was about the time when Ludwig usually started making dinner for him and Feliciano. Ludwig was having a conversation with Antonio while they walked around to the back of the barn, it something about an herb garden that sounded pretty boring but Antonio seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. Feliciano followed close behind, his clothes dirty, muscles sore, and his belly complaining loudly. His brother was walking beside him, still being very quiet but, once again, Feliciano was too busy worrying about other things to notice his sourer than usual mood. He was more focused on getting some food, washing himself, and going to bed. 

Ludwig shook Antonio’s hand and thanked him for the help, to which Antonio responded to with a warm hug that he apparently wasn’t prepared for. But he was good with people with the habit of invading the personal space of others. Antonio said his goodbyes to Ludwig and Feliciano and called Lovino over to go home with him. As they started to walk away Feliciano walked up beside Ludwig and flopped against his side like a limp ragdoll. He hung off of his arm and rested the side of his face against Ludwig’s shoulder, “Ludy, I’m so _tiiired_! I really don’t want to go all the way back home… Can’t I spend the night with you? I promise I’ll be good!” He begged, rubbing his dirt smeared cheek, or at least he hoped it was dirt, against Ludwig’s equally dirty shirt. 

Ludwig sighed, “Alright, so long as you keep at least most of your clothes on this time. Oh, and don’t sleep on my arm, it took forever to get the feeling back last time.” He nudged Feliciano lightly with his elbow in one of those rare moments when he showed a little playfulness. 

Feliciano responded with a giggle and dragged Ludwig down to kiss his cheek, “Ve, thank you Ludy!” Apparently Lovino was still in hearing range while Feliciano was making plans with Ludwig to sleep over because he was stalking towards the two of them with Antonio calling after him in an attempt to get his attention.

Oh no. Oh no, oh dear, oh _shit_. Lovino was barking obscenities and baring his fangs and laying his ears back like he was about to lash out. It was the biggest meltdown Feliciano had seen him have in years. Okay, maybe it was more like months. But still, it’d been a long time since he’d last been that angry, or at least for him it had been a long time. Feliciano tried to plead with him with his expression, remind him that Antonio was still there, do something to make him calm the hell down but he was too furious to pay attention to any pleas his brother gave him. 

Antonio was trying to get his attention, clapping and whistling as he jogged over, “Perrito, what has gotten into you? Come here-” He wasn’t able to finish because his dog had just become a very angry naked man in front of him. He’d changed mid rant and was still yelling at Ludwig when he switched over without even missing a beat

“ ** _\- BASTARD HOW DARE YOU TRY TO GET MY BROTHER INTO BED YOU PASTY SKINNED, POTATO MUNCHING, PIG SHIT SMELLING, SLEAZY SON OF A-_** ” He stopped in the middle of his angry shrieking, finger pointed at Ludwig’s chest accusingly and everything hanging out in the open summer breeze as bare as the day he was born. 

Feliciano had a hand over his mouth and his eyes were wide with shock, at his side Ludwig was doing his best impression of a stone statue. All three of them simultaneously looked over at Antonio, who was standing with his mouth hanging open like a dead fish on a line. Lovino went ruddy red from the tips of his ears all the way down to his tanned shoulders.

“Um, Antonio… I can explain?”


	3. Glass Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ludwig and Feliciano help Gilbert take his chickens to market.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to edit out Ludwig's and Gilbert's accents, it's a pain in the ass and it looks annoying. I went back and edited it out of the previous chapters too. This is kind of a long chapter, sorry.

The clothes on the line swayed with the humid morning wind like ghosts dancing to slow music. Ludwig was busy hanging damp clothes while Feliciano sat fretting on the porch with his chin resting on his palms and his elbows propped on his knees. “But are you sure it’s okay just to leave things like this with them? From what Antonio has told you and _mi fratello_ has told me, they haven’t talked in days. Do you think they’re going to be okay?” Feliciano asked, his concern and deep thought making a crease form in between his eyebrows.

Ludwig huffed out his nose and spoke around clothespins held between his teeth, “We can’t just meddle with these things, Feliciano. If they’re going to work things out they need to do it themselves. Antonio not only just found out that something we used to think of as an old wives tale is a reality but he found out that his dog is really a person. He’ll need some time to process things so we just need to sit back and keep out of it.” He pinned up one of his work shirts as he spoke, pausing once or twice to get a pin out of his mouth. 

Feliciano pouted and grumbled to himself, “Well if they don’t work things out themselves and Lovino stays all gloomy and sad forever, I’m blaming you.” 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing! What are we doing today?” Feliciano quickly changed the subject but Ludwig wasn’t an idiot, he merely rolled his eyes and continued hanging up his laundry. 

“Gilbert asked me yesterday morning if I could help him take some of his meat birds down to market today, so we’re going to be heading over to help gather them and take them to town.” He answered, getting smacked in the face as he finished by a damp shirt sleeve caught by the breeze.

Feliciano made a questioning noise and ignored Ludwig getting slapped by his own laundry, “Meat birds? I’ve never heard of those, what are they?”

“It’s just another name for chickens that are bred and raised for their meat. Once I get done hanging the laundry we can go.” Ludwig explained, he was actually looking forward to seeing his obnoxious brother for once. Anything to talk to a person who wasn’t involved in the whole debacle from earlier in the week. But Feliciano seemed to be nearly making himself sick with worry. He wasn’t concerned so much with the fact that the secret of his species existence was revealed to yet another human but more with the wellbeing of his brother. 

Apparently Feliciano’s litter mate had hardly even said a single word for days since he accidentally changed forms in front of Antonio. Ludwig dragged Feliciano away to let the two of them talk it out on their own after Ludwig gave Lovino his shirt to tie around his waist so he was out in the open but they did catch some of the conversation. Antonio didn’t seem angry, just sort of shaken and in disbelief. Lovino tried to explain himself the best he could, who he was, why he hid who he really was, _what_ he really was, and so on. He apologized so many times, begged to be forgiven in a way Feliciano explained to Ludwig later that night that he had never heard in all their years of being brothers. Hell, the tempermental half wolf even teared up a little, which seemed to shock his younger twin even more. Ludwig guessed that Lovino was the more emotionally closed off of the two of them, which was a stark contrast from Feliciano’s personality. Toni asked for some time to think by himself, to gather his thoughts, and Lovino solemnly agreed to honor his request. 

Ludwig and Feliciano had extensively talked over the issue that same night over dinner and even as they were trying to sleep, Feliciano insisting on sleeping in Ludwig’s bed with him. And it seemed as if he was still dwelling on the subject even after all that conversing about it. Ludwig was pretty sure that he would continue dwelling on it until Antonio and Lovino finally reached some kind of resolution, and maybe even after that. Ludwig was starting to understand that Feliciano was a fairly care free person, but if he found something to worry about it he was going to fret and agonize over it for days at a time. 

Ludwig figured, in a conclusion that really could only be come up with a workaholic like he was, that the solution for now was to simply keep him busy for the time being. He hung the rest of his laundry and set the wicker basket the laundry was previously in on the porch next to Feliciano, startling him out of what seemed to be a very deep train of thought. “Alright, time to go.” He said briskly, Feliciano nodded and Ludwig waited for him to scoot himself off the porch. 

They walked in relative silence, which was fairly uncommon for any activity done with Feliciano there from what Ludwig had gathered in his roughly week and a half of knowing him. The path to Gilbert’s house was thin and slightly covered in short grass, it lead over the hill that was just past Ludwig’s fields. As they crested the hill they could see Gilbert’s house, it was about the same size as Ludwig’s and made out of the same type of wood. A short ways away from his house was his barn, the smaller chicken coop next to it, and all the fenced in yards his animals roamed in, while many other animals just roamed freely in the grassy fields that stretched along the edge of the forest. The yards were mostly for his male animals to keep any unplanned breeding to a minimum. His barn was bigger than Ludwig’s, he had many more animals to take care of. All of which were sure to be well cared for to the point of being spoiled rotten, especially a certain chicken who would not be named. The guy might have been an ass to other people but he wasn’t to his animals.

Seeing his brother’s barn reminded him of Gilbert’s tendencies to say things that were… _distasteful_ to people he barely knew. He stopped Feliciano when they were half way down the hill with a hand on his shoulder which seemed to surprise him out of yet another deep train of thought, “Just to varn you, my older brother has a habit of being a little, vell, how do I explain? A little _obnoxious_ and kind of inappropriate around people. So just be prepared for that and if he says something too over the line tell me and I’ll set him straight.” He did love his brother but he didn’t love the way he acted at times, he honestly thought he did it to embarrass him sometimes. 

Feliciano gave a little half hearted smile and nodded, “Don’t worry, I know how it is to have an older brother who isn’t very good with people, you’ve seen that yourself.” The two of them went back to walking and Feliciano fell back into silence. 

The two approached the barn and were surrounded by chickens pecked at bugs and seeds around their feet, unfazed by the two strangers that had entered their territory. Ludwig yelled in a boom that made Feliciano jump next to him, “Gilbert! _Sind Sie hier_?”(Are you here?) 

There was an answering shout, also in german, that came from the direction of the chicken coop. “ _Ja, ich bin hier! Werden Sie patient, miststück_!”(Yes, I’m over here! Be patient you bitch/bastard!) Then there was an odd sounding laugh that barely sounded like actual laughing. The voice was higher pitched and more piercing than Ludwig’s baritone and he immediately recognized it as his older brother.

The pair walked over to the chicken coop where a man with white hair, red eyes, a basket full of eggs hanging from one hand, and a pint sized gold colored chicken on his shoulder. He had a confident gleam in his eyes and a crooked grin. He was a little paler than Ludwig and he didn’t wear his hair pushed back. He was also a couple inches shorter than him and a little more lithe which seemed to surprise Feliciano who had his eyebrows raised as he looked at the man approaching them. He slapped his brother on the shoulder roughly, jostling the chicken on his shoulder with the sudden movement, “‘Ey brother, you ready to catch some chickens?” He inquired with another one of his strange laughs.

Feliciano cocked his head a little to the side, “Wait, Ludy I thought you were his younger brother.” He pondered with his brows drawn together in confusion. 

Gilbert answered before Ludwig could, “I am his older brother! Can’t you see from how much more mature and awesome I am?” He asked with a cocky smirk.

“Well, you’re just a lot smaller than he is.” Feliciano replied, gesturing to Ludwig next to him.

That seemed to strike a small nerve in the red eyed man, he frowned at him, “Hey, it’s not my fault I didn’t eat very much as a kid. Besides, Ludwig is just a weirdo. How many people do you know can grow to be monsters like him?” He said, also gesturing to Ludwig who looked pretty disinterested with their conversation. “How old are you anyways? About fifteen or so?” He asked with a pale, arched eyebrow.

Feliciano shook his head, “I’m nineteen, actually.”

Gilbert stopped and went blank faced for a second before laughing, the shaking of his shoulders making the little chicken perched there bawk quietly in surprise, “And you accuse _me_ of being small for my age? You look like a child next to Ludy!” 

Ludwig cleared his throat and decided to finally interject, “Well, since you aren’t going to introduce yourself properly to my farm hand, I might as well do it for you. Feliciano, this is my brother, Gilbert. Gilbert, this is my new hired help, Feliciano.” He gestured to both of them in turn.

Feliciano gave a wave and one of his easy smiles in greeting, “ _Piacere di conoscerti_!”(Nice to meet you!) 

Gilbert grinned back and gave Feliciano a clap on the shoulder, “I’m guessing that’s italian for ‘I’m honored to make your awesome acquaintance’. Nice to meet you too, Feliciano!” He greeted him loudly.

Feliciano opened his mouth to correct him on what he’d just said but decided against it, he probably knew what he said and was trying to mess with him. Or not. Even Ludwig couldn’t really tell if he was serious or not. The taller blonde man looked around, “Alright, now where do we start with getting these chickens together? Which ones are even the meat birds?” He asked.

His brother sighed, “Always work with you, you never want to just chat with your dear older brother.” He said with mock hurt in his voice and his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

Ludwig looked at him in an unamused fashion. “Gilbert, I finished my duties on my farm early to come over here, which chickens are the goddamn meat hens?” He dead panned.

Gilbert sighed heavily again, “Still no fun, are you Ludy?” He looked to Feliciano, “You know, I really hope you can teach zis old pig farmer here to loosen up a little while you’re working for him. He’s too much of a stick in the mud workaholic. He shook his head and rolled his crimson eyes before he actually addressed Ludwig’s question, “The meat birds are the ixworths, like that one,” He pointed to one of the bigger white chickens with bright red combs pecking at the ground outside the coop. “Just make sure to leave one of the roosters and the three females I marked with a red cloth around their legs. They’re the best egg layers and brooders so I’ll need them to breed some more. I’ll bring the cart around, it has all the cages we’ll be putting them in so you two wait here.” He explained before he started to walk around to the other side of the barn, the chicken on his shoulder bouncing and swaying slightly with each step he took.

Ludwig popped his knuckles and stretched his arms, it was always such a chore to catch chickens for the market. Why did they always have to be so fast? At least Gilbert kept their spurs trimmed fairly short so they wouldn’t get torn up too bad when they tried to grab them. He felt a tap on his shoulder that drew his attention back down, “Ludy, why does he have that small chicken on his shoulder? I think I could hold it with one hand, is it a baby that thinks he’s it’s mother or something?” He inquired.

Ludwig snorted, the image of Gilbert cradling the small chicken like a baby and wearing an apron flashing momentarily in his head, “No, that’s his pet. He named him Gilbird. It’s just a very small species of chicken, I can’t really remember what the name was though.” 

They heard the sound of squeaky wheels coming from behind them, “He’s a gold neck Belgian d’uccle and he is more than a pet, he is a _companion._ ” The two of them turned to see Gilbert pulling a cart full of wicker cages behind him, Gilbird had switched from perching on his shoulder to his head.

Ludwig rolled his eyes, “He’s a _decoration_ bird who you can’t butcher because he doesn’t have enough meat on him to make up a good meal. The only reason the other roosters haven’t killed him is because he’s always perched on you or following you around.” He replied, trying to push his older brother’s buttons about his small fry of a pet rooster. He wouldn’t admit it but he was sometimes the one that instigated the teasing between him and his brother. 

Gilbert made a show of gasping dramatically and letting go of the cart to reach up and cover Gilbird’s “ears”, who clucked in a soft, confused manner in response to suddenly having two hands that were as big as his whole body on either side of his head. “Ludwig! You know Gilbird is sensitive to that kind of thing!” He hissed at him like a scandalized parent scolding someone for cursing around their child. 

Feliciano snickered quietly at his reaction to Ludwig’s jab at his chicken. Ludwig even allowed himself to smirk a little as he shook his head, “Alright _dummkopf_ (idiot), are you going to spread the feed to get the ixworths over here or are you going to stand there and defend your shrimpy chicken all day?” He asked.

His brother mockingly imitated him by making squawky noises that vaguely sounded like what he had just said, but he did so on the way to the back of the cart where he grabbed a burlap sack from on top of the cages and placed Gilbird to perch on the side of the cart. He yelled something in German as he ripped open the top of the bag and dumped it onto the ground a few feet in front of the chicken coop. It was half full of food scraps and the junk parts of certain animals that couldn’t be sold or eaten. The chickens started to sprint towards the pile in a frenzy and soon there was a horde of various kinds of poultry assembled to peck at the ground and each other as they hurried to get all the food they could. Gilbert clapped his hands together and turned to the other two with a grin, “Alright, now start grabbing them while they’re distracted!” He stated as if it were more of a game they were about to play and not part of his job. Ludwig knew he had always loved a good game of chase as a kid. 

The blonde older brother looked down to his “farm hand”, expecting to see hesitance in him like he did with the pigs, but instead he saw him bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes flitting over the birds as if he was counting how many were the ones he needed to grab. Ludwig had never seen him so enthusiastic about work before but he also remembered that he was still part dog, and they were practically handing him an opportunity to chase around a bunch of chickens. He really hoped that the glint in the half wolf’s eyes was from a determination to catch as many of the chickens as possible and not a primal hunger.

The two of them watched Gilbert sneak up on a chicken before he grabbed it by the neck, explaining that the hold wouldn't hurt them. The other chickens scattered a bit but not far since the food was still there. Then he showed them how to open up the cages and get the birds inside. After Gilbert’s demonstration, Feliciano unexpectedly blurted out, “Ve! _Andiamo!_ (let’s go!)” quickly before he darted forwards so fast he was a blur for a second or two. The two birds he grabbed didn’t even have time to react before he got a hold of them, one in each hand by the neck. 

He held up the two chickens up with a wide, proud smile as they flapped their wings and squawked at him indignantly, Ludwig swore that if he had a tail at that moment it would have been waging. He glanced over at his brother who had his mouth hanging open a little, he blinked and smiled a bit unsurely, “Well damn, you’re a fast little guy aren’t you? Well, go ahead, stick ‘em in their cages, we still have a lot more to go.” He said, giving Feliciano a congratulatory slap on the back as he walked over to the cart. While Feliciano was too busy humming happily and stuffing the two chickens into their cages Gilbert looked to his brother and raised his eyebrows, Ludwig just shrugged in response. Hopefully his older brother wouldn’t question that little burst of unnatural speed too much. 

Unfortunately, Feliciano didn’t see anything wrong with darting around and grabbing chickens quicker than a fox with a pack of hunting dogs on it’s tail. Ludwig couldn’t get him to slow down long enough to tell him to try and be more conspicuous either, chasing around the birds seemed to light up a deeply ingrained hunting instinct in the half wolf. He had to admit, it was good to see him with his eyes bright and a big, albeit a little predatory, grin on his face after so many days of him moping and fretting. 

While Feliciano was busy being little more than a giggly blur with very disgruntled chickens in hand half the time, Ludwig and his brother had to do the old “corner and dive for it” technique. By the time all the chickens were caught and put in their cages Ludwig and Gilbert had stains on the armpits of their shirts and were thoroughly winded. Feliciano on the other hand was bouncing on his heals, humming a happy tune, and hardly looking as if he even broke a sweat.

Gilbert bragged about catching two more chickens than his younger brother, he caught five while the bigger and slower Ludwig caught only three. Feliciano caught the seventeen others. Gilbert had seemingly nothing to say to that, but he did side eye Feliciano in an almost suspicious manner. 

While Gilbert was hooking his mule up to the cart, and softly cursing to himself in German when he got a buckle wrong, Feliciano skipped up to Ludwig with a wide grin. “Ludy we should come over here to chase chickens more often, this is fun!” 

Ludwig smiled back at him, “We were _catching_ the chickens. We can’t just go around chasing chickens for fun.” He patted Feliciano before tousling his hair a little like he would do when he was in his wolf form, “But you did good, Feli.” 

Feliciano practically beamed at the praise and nudged Ludwig’s hand with his head before he lunged forward to hug him. Ludwig could have sworn he heard Feliciano sniff him a few times with a soft hum before he bounced off to go look at the chickens in their cages but he wasn’t sure due to the fact that most of the air in his lungs was being squeezed out of him by a pair of lithe arms at the time. After he wheezed a sufficient amount of air back into his lungs he glanced over at Gilbert to see if he was done hooking up the mule to find his brother looking at him with a strangely pensive look. Once he realized Ludwig was looking at him the expression was quickly gone from his face and replaced with a more neutral one. 

Gilbert dusted off his hands and walked over to bump his brother’s shoulder with his own, “So, we ready to get going? You needed to go into town too, right _Ludy_?” He said, obviously mocking Feliciano’s nickname for him.

Ludwig shoved him back in an almost playful manner, “Yes, and don’t ever call me that again.” He deadpanned while the corners of his mouth twitched just barely as he tried not to smile at his brother’s awful imitation of Feliciano’s accent and vocal pitch. His brother just laughed and gave him one of his signature shit eating grins while he went to go pick up Gilbird from where he still sat on the side of the cart and placing him back on his rightful place on his shoulder.

Then came the hour long walk alongside the cart to the town along a dirt road with shallow wagon wheel ruts partially overgrown with grass that was starting to be cooked to a brown color by the summer sun. Ludwig was fairly quiet as he let Feliciano babble away at either him or his brother with endless questions. Questions about chickens, questions about their homeland, questions about the town and what it was like during the day, and on and on and on. The two didn’t mind, or at least Gilbert didn’t seem to mind and hid it well if he did. Ludwig was used to being bombarded with questions by Feliciano, he found his boundless curiosity endearing. Gilbert taught Feliciano how to lead the mule and he was happy to take over for half the time.

The first house they passed signalled to Ludwig that they were just a few minutes away from being right on the edge of town. The tiny house was surrounded by sunflowers and directly attached to a shop where the kindly but slightly intimidating Russian blacksmith named Ivan lived. He didn’t seem to interact with many people but his services were good and he made beautiful blown glass sculptures and ornaments as a hobby and partial source of income. Ludwig didn’t bother stopping by to say hello, he knew that on summer days like this Ivan would set up a small stand in the market square and sell his glass works and talk with people who were interested in his metal working services.

The trio made their way into the houses and shops and Feliciano gave up the reigns to Gilbert again, he knew how to navigate through the streets of the town like the back of his hand by then. Instead the half wolf fell back to stay close to Ludwig, looking up at the buildings and people passing by in wonder and apprehension. Ludwig knew that he’d done some “human watching” in town before but that was at night and he wasn’t in the thick of things then so he could understand him being a little frightened in the new environment.

Soon after they entered the town they headed towards the market square where Gilbert would park his cart and start selling his chickens. Ludwig hoped Feliciano wouldn’t be too overwhelmed by the hecticness of the market, it could get pretty chaotic with all the people in town and even some from the next towns over gathering there. They had to yield to the left side of the cobblestone road to allow the bigger horse drawn carts and carriages pass them, the likes of which grew more frequent the closer they got to the market square. When they finally arrived at their destination Ludwig could hear Feliciano gasp beside him, he wasn’t sure whether it was in awe or fear. It could have been a bit of both.

The square was packed with people moving from shop to shop, vendor to vendor, stand to stand, they had to dodge around the carriages and carts moving through to either stop and let people out or go to some other part of the town. The air rang with the sound of clopping hooves, rickety wooden wheels on stone, idle chatting between customers and vendors alike, and the shouts of vendors trying to draw in customers. There were some who were obviously of higher class milling around some of the stands that sold more frivolous items but the majority were people of Ludwig’s working class and lower. 

Gilbert stopped for a second, humming and scanning the square before he found what he was looking for, “Ah! There it is. I asked Ivan to save me a spot next to his stand.” He said, tugging the mule’s reins to make her move again as he started to pull her in the right direction.

Ludwig glanced down at Feliciano to see him looking torn between cowering and going to look around. He put a steadying arm around his shoulders, which made him jump at first but he relaxed after he realized it was just Ludwig, “There’s nothing to be scared of, just be sure to keep close to me to keep from getting lost, okay?” He assured him.

Feliciano looked back up at him with an unsure but trusting smile, “ _Bene_ (okay) Ludy, I’ll make sure to stay close.” As if to prove the point he sidled up against Ludwig’s side, doing that face nuzzling, sniffing thing again. When he unburied his face from Ludwig’s shirt he had a bit of a pink tinge to his cheeks and looked a good bit calmer than before, if not a little dazed. Ludwig assumed it was probably some half wolf thing, maybe the familiarity of a friend’s scent could help calm them down. Or… Something like that. He just let it be for the time being and made a mental not to ask him about it later. 

Gilbert lead the cart as well as Ludwig and the half wolf attached to his side across to the left side of the square where a line of vendors had their stalls set up between the shops. Ivan stood in his own stall, waving to them with a friendly smile that sort of lost it’s purpose of being amiable with the purely intimidating air he had about him. There were many things that tended to make him a bit hard to approach. To start, he wasn’t exactly a small man, he towered a couple inches above even Ludwig and was just as muscular, if not a little more so. He also had platinum blonde hair as well as violet eyes that were equal parts terrifying and mystifying to look into. Those who really knew Ivan knew that he was generally a pretty nice guy and there was no real reason to be afraid of him. But then again not too many people other than Ludwig and Gilbert had made an effort to get to know him past just his blacksmithing services. That day he happened to be dressed in fairly light clothes, he always seemed to be wearing cooler clothes than everyone else. He would always say that England in winter time was like the part of Russia he used to live in during the summer. 

He greeted them with a loud call in their direction in his thick Russian accent, “Gilbert! Ludwig! _Рад тебя видеть!_ (nice to see you!)

Ludwig and Gilbert waved back to him and Gilbert lead the cart into the empty spot next to his stall. After it was parked and ready to be set up Gilbert clapped Ivan roughly on the shoulder, who then returned the gesture by dragging him into a crushing hug with one arm. Once he was able to free himself of the grip of the larger Russian man Gilbert returned the greeting, “Good to see you too, you damned brute.” He said with his odd laugh following after.

Ludwig kept his distance for both the comfort of the very hesitant man still clinging to his side and also because he didn’t feel like being crushed twice in one day. So instead he nodded to him from where he stood, “Good to see you’re doing well Ivan.” He said, trying to ignore the fact that Feliciano was half hiding behind him to use him as a meat shield. 

Ivan let his gaze fall to the shy auburn head peaking out from behind Ludwig, “And who is this? Do you two have another younger brother I was not aware of?” He asked, his smile never faltering once.

Ludwig chuckled and guided Feliciano out from his hiding place, “No, he’s my newly hired farmhand, Feliciano Vargas. Feli, this is Ivan Braginski, he’s the town blacksmith and glass blower.” He explained, gesturing to each of them in turn. 

Ivan bowed his head to Feliciano, who meekly waved back at him. “It is nice to meet you Feliciano. Any friend of Ludwig and Gilbert’s is a friend of mine.” He said politely. He looked back to Ludwig with a raised eyebrow, “Ludwig, I never thought you’d be the type to hire such a young boy.” He inquired.

Ludwig at least had the decency to hold back from snorting while Gilbert openly laughed. Feliciano looked confused and a little bit offended, he turned back to Ludwig with a pout, “Ludy why does everyone think I’m a kid? Don’t I look like I’m nineteen?” He asked.

The taller blonde shrugged, mussing up Feliciano’s hair, “No idea. Try not to be too offended by it, Feli. At least you could probably go into a toy shop without being questioned.” He teased, earning him a deeper pout and a slight glare from Feliciano.

When he looked back to the two of them, Ludwig caught Ivan and Gilbert exchanging a look that was quickly gone once they saw Ludwig look at them. Gilbert cleared his throat softly, “Hey Ludwig, could you help me set up the cart really quick?” He asked, his gaze flicking down to Feliciano and over to Ivan in a signal that he wanted to talk to him alone.

Ludwig nodded, looking back at Feliciano, “Feli, do you think you could wait over here with Ivan? Maybe look at some of his glass sculptures while I help Gilbert?” He suggested. 

Feliciano looked a little apprehensive but nodded and went to go look at the colorful blown glass pieces covering the stand. Most of them were either depictions of exotic or just beautiful animals, faceless dancing figures, or ornate vases. He and Ivan started talking when Ludwig walked around to the other side of the cart to unhook the mule. Once they were generally out of earshot and working on the buckles and hooks Ludwig spoke up, “Alright, what did you want to ask me?” He asked quietly.

Gilbert’s eyes flicked over to Feliciano where he faced away from the two of them, Ivan was showing him one of the vases. “Well, I was just wondering when you started taking your hired help as lovers is all.” He said almost casually.

Ludwig froze and looked at his brother as if he’d gone completely crazy, “What the hell are you talking about?” He asked before he reminded himself to keep his voice down, “He is not my lover. I’m not like you Gilbert, I don’t go after men.” He grumbled.

“You say that but I’ve never seen you take interest in women either. Feliciano is the only person I’ve seen you be so… _Friendly_ with.” His brother retorted quietly, taking his sweet time undoing the buckles. He was going to drag out this conversation. Ludwig groaned internally. Why did his older brother have to be so blunt and nosey with these things?

“Why do you even want to know? Aren’t you a little too busy with your own romantic pursuits to be nosing your way into mine?” He whispered before he realized what he’d just said and rushed to correct himself, “I mean, not that I’m romantically pursuing Feliciano. You know what I mean.” 

Gilbert snorted, “ _Suuure_ I do. But you shouldn’t be afraid to get close to him if you want to is what I’m trying to tell you. He’s pretty cute and he’d be good for you. All that _kuhscheiße_ (bullshit) in the old testament doesn’t matter and none of our friends would ever give either of us away to the church. Although they wouldn’t really have to, with how soft you are towards him and how much he clings to you people would think that you’re a newly married couple.” He said.

That made Ludwig think for a second, did they really act like lovers? He had to admit to himself that, yes, he was affectionate towards him and he had grown fond of him but he didn’t know he was quite _that_ affectionate towards him. Strangely enough, he found that he didn’t really want to stop acting like that with him even if people thought they were together. In fact he felt oddly satisfied, like he wanted them to think that so they would know that Feliciano was his to protect. That thought alarmed him so he decided to shove it somewhere down deep and pretend it never happened instead of analyzing it. “I know all that, and I don’t care what they think,” He lied, “I’m not trying to be his lover. Please just don’t try to bring this up with him, I don’t want to lose my farmhand because you made things awkward for him, he probably doesn’t even swing that way.” 

Gilbert quickly finished unfastening the last of the buckles, “Alright, alright, just try to have an open mind. It’s good to see you might be following in your awesome older brother’s footsteps.” He teased him, punching his shoulder lightly with a laugh. Ludwig just rolled his eyes and waited for Gilbert to get the mule out of the way and tied up to a post in front of a water trough so he could turn the cart to have the back end open to the square. As he was passing back by Gilbert decided to whisper in his brother’s ear, “Oh, and I’ve seen him staring at your ass, he definitely swings that way.” Which earned him a hard elbow to the arm and one of those rare flustered blushes that Ludwig hardly ever let slip. 

As Gilbert was trying to be nonchalant as he sauntered into the bakery nearby and Ludwig dusted off his hands Feliciano bounced up to him enthusiastically with a bright smile and something in his hands. He held up a little glass sculpture for Ludwig to see, “Look Ludy, isn’t it pretty?” He asked. The glass sculpture was of a wolf. It was a light, almost powder blue color and the little wolf was standing regally with it’s watchful gaze pointed straight ahead. 

Ludwig couldn’t help but smile, “Yes, it is beautiful.” He thought for a second as he watched Feliciano admire the glass wolf, “Would you like me to get it for you?” He asked.

Feliciano gasped and looked up at him with wide eyes, “You would do that?” When Ludwig nodded he grinned and bounced on his heals, only resisting hugging him because the glass sculpture would most likely break in the process.

Ludwig looked over to Ivan where he stood behind his stand, “How much for this one Ivan?” 

Ivan chuckled and shouted back over to him, “For you, my friend, I will give you a discount, _da_? It is five pence.” 

Ludwig dug in his pocket for the small leather pouch that he kept his money in on his way back over to the stand with Feliciano following behind him. He pulled out the five pence and placed it in Ivan’s open hand, “Thank you Ivan, now if you don’t mind I have to go buy some bread and pasta while my brother gets friendly with Matthew again.” He said, rolling his eyes to add emphasis to the “again” portion of the sentence.

Ivan let out a hearty laugh, “Good luck, Ludwig. Tell Matthew to save some biscuits for me.”

Ludwig and Feliciano said goodbye, thanked him again for the sculpture, and started to head towards the bakery. There were a few people coming in and out, either placing orders, picking them up, or just getting some of the prebaked things they had ready to buy. Ludwig was right when he thought that the reason Gilbert wandered into the shop was to flirt with Matthew. 

When the two of them walked in Ludwig’s brother was leaning his elbows on the shop counter and gazing over at a man who was placing out some fresh baked rolls. The man was just an inch or so shorter than Gilbert with medium length, dirty blonde hair. His eyes were a deep blue that almost looked violet in the right lighting and held a softness in them, almost as gentle as the hushed tone and the lilting french accent he spoke in. That day he wore a long sleeve white shirt that was a bit too big for him, but he seemed to like his shirts that way. His pants, on the other hand, were the tight fitting, tan pair that Ludwig had heard Gilbert gush and rant about several times on the way home from town. Ludwig took it upon himself to relay this information back to Matthew, sometimes he liked to take certain opportunities to embarrass his older brother. After all, what else were brothers for? But the fact that Matthew took that information and decided to wear those pants on the day that he knew Gilbert was coming into town for market was almost enough to make Ludwig snort in unabashed amusement. Those two were hopeless.

The pair seemed to be talking about meeting up for a dinner some time outside of work when Ludwig and Feliciano walked in. Gilbert was shameless when it came to making eyes at the soft spoken boy, who was only a year younger than Feliciano was, while Matthew tended to steal shy glances that flitted away as soon as his blue eyes met crimson. He was smiling in the way Ludwig knew he would never hear the end of on the way home, all bashfulness and cheeks dusted pink.

Ludwig cleared his throat just sharp enough to make the both of them jump, as well as Gilbird but he merely jumped because he was still sitting on Gilbert’s shoulder. Gilbert glared at his brother and Matthew turned red and was suddenly very interested in the state of his shoes. Matthew blushed even more easily than Gilbert did, which was a hard feet to best the albino man in with how pale his skin was. Ludwig tried to keep the amusement out of his voice, “Hello Matthew, nice to see you. I believe I ordered some bread and pasta for today a few days back?” He said politely.

Matthew nodded and cleared his throat before replying, which didn’t do much to keep his voice from cracking on his reply, “ _Bonjour_ Ludwig, it’s good to see you too. I’ll get it right away.” He rushed into the back of the bakery where he could be heard talking to Francis in slightly muffled French.

Gilbert huffed out his nose irritably and shot his brother a glare, “Way to ruin a moment, _dummkopf_. I was just about to get a first date with him.” He grumbled.

A cheery voice sounded from beside Ludwig, “I’m sure he’ll still be interested once he comes back, no need to worry Gilbert!” Ludwig had actually kind of forgotten about Feliciano for a second and had a minor moment of panic about what he’d just seen. But he was surprised by how casually he responded to Gilbert very openly being romantically interested in another man. He suspected that his kind might have had different views on homosexuality than most humans did, he would have to ask about it once they left the bakery. 

Matthew emerged from the back of the bakery with the bread wrapped in wax paper and the dried pasta noodles in a paper bag. He avoided eye contact with Ludwig as he exchanged the goods for money, obviously embarrassed to be caught flirting with his older brother… Again. Ludwig thanked him politely and avoided his brother’s glare burning into his skull as he left and reminded him not to leave his cart unattended for too long. Feliciano turned to walk backwards so he could grin and give Gilbert a double thumbs up on his way out the bakery door.

Once they were back out in the square Feliciano spoke up again, “How come you didn’t tell me Gilbert was trying to make that Matthew guy his mate?” He asked as casually as if he were asking about the weather.

“Shoosh! Be careful saying things like that in public!” Ludwig whispered back at him, glancing around to see if anyone heard. Thankfully all the people that were within hearing range were too busy trying to haggle with vendors.

Feliciano tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows, “Why not? Are humans really _that_ discreet about personal stuff? You guys already wear tons of clothes in summer, how much less revealing can you get?” He asked.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at him, “Huh, so I guess your kind really is different about those kinds of things.” He mumbled half to himself. He sighed, gearing himself up for what would most likely be a pretty awkward conversation, at least for him. “Well, it isn’t so much that he’s trying to get together with Matthew so much as the fact that they’re both men. Most human cultures see people being in romantic relationships with the same gender as… Something far less than acceptable.” He explained in a hushed tone.

His explanation only made Feliciano seem more confused and maybe even a little offended, “What? Why is that? Is it because it’s less common than people of different genders being mates?”

“Well, that, and because a few religious texts say that it’s a sin. But it’s a little better now than it used to be just a few decades ago, at least the burnings have stopped.” He half mumbled the last part, feeling that flicker of relief that came in knowing that it wasn’t as likely for his brother to be burned so much as just ostracized from the community. Shunned was better than dead any day.

Feliciano stopped walking altogether, his eyebrows starting to pull down where they almost met in the middle and Ludwig could see his resemblance to his twin brother for a second. “That’s so stupid. And what do you mean burnings? Did they used to burn down their homes or something too?” He asked, his voice starting to raise a little in his anger.

Ludwig glanced around, shushing him again and trying to think if telling him the truth was a good idea. He would’ve hated to lie to Feliciano so he took a deep breath and went on in a whisper, “Not exactly, they used to… Burn gay people along with suspected witches and heretics.” 

Feliciano froze before every line in his face shifted from anger to spell out “fear” and he looked poised to bolt out of the square. “ ** _WHAT!?_** ” He shrieked, looking around frantically like anyone could grab him and throw him on a burning pyre at any second.

Ludwig put a hand over his mouth and held his shoulder in the other, “Hush! They don’t do it anymore, I swear! Calm down, Feli.” He hissed. People were giving them some strange looks so he let go of him, “Sorry, just shared a shocking bit of gossip is all.” He said to a man that had stopped to gawk at them, just loud enough for anyone nearby to hear as well. His mind flickered briefly over the fact that Feliciano’s reaction seemed a bit personal, like he was afraid that _he_ would be burned. He wondered if it was over the fact that he could be considered a heretic or if he was possibly attracted to men. Maybe Gilbert was right. But at the moment he was just concentrating on getting him to calm down.

Feliciano was starting to stop hyperventilating. He looked up at Ludwig with wide eyes that were also a little shiny with the beginnings of tears, “I’m sorry, I just can’t imagine why anyone would do something so awful just because of who they love or what they believe.” He sniffled, allowing Ludwig to pat him consolingly on the head while his gaze shifted to stare into empty space. “It’s just so much different than what my people think.” He said quietly in disbelief.

Ludwig tried to get him talking again so he wouldn’t think too much, he didn’t like to think about the things that could have happened to his brother were they born just a few decades earlier and keeping his mind busy helped. “What do your people think then?” He asked, trying to coax him away from images of fire and hatred.

Feliciano looked back up at him, the wetness in his eyes receding, “Oh, well we think that they must be that way for a reason so we think of them as the same as everyone else, just with a different preference. They’re just people, only a little less common.” He said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand. 

“That sounds… Pretty great.” He said almost wistfully, trying to imagine a world he could live in where he wouldn’t have to constantly worry about his brother who had no knowledge of the meaning of the phrase “keeping it on the downlow”.

Feliciano suddenly hugged him, “I’m sorry you have to be scared for Gilbert.” He mumbled, his voice being muffled by Ludwig’s shirt. 

Ludwig allowed him to hug him for a bit and even patted his head before he had to pull away due to the raised eyebrows around them, “Alright that’s enough, thank you for the sympathy but we’re starting to attract some attention.” He said with a deep chuckle.

Feliciano had that slight flush and dazed look again but he seemed to shake it off quickly, “Oh, sorry Ludy. Are we going home yet?” He asked, glancing around to the other stalls around the square.

Ludwig had to resist smiling at Feliciano calling his house home, “Not unless you want to, there’s still some time before I have to do more chores at home so we could look around more if you want.” 

He saw Feliciano’s face light up and he grabbed Ludwig’s hand to drag him off to a stall on the other side of the square, “Ve! I saw something over here that looks really neat!” 

As it turned out Ludwig was in for a few hours of being lead around the square and to the various shops in the general area. Almost everything was new and amazing for him and, even though his arm was almost yanked out of it’s socket every time Feliciano saw something new he wanted to check out, Ludwig found his excitement endearing if not a little cute. He had to be the one doing the dragging when Feliciano saw a small dress shop and wanted to go in because of how beautiful the dresses were. Ludwig reminded himself to explain cross dressing to Feliciano as a part of an ever growing list of uncomfortable human topics that he would “get to eventually”. He also reminded himself not to imagine Feliciano in one of those frilly dressed.

The entire time he was being led around Ludwig’s brother was standing by his cart with a smug ass grin on his face, making kissy faces and winking at him when he wasn’t trying to make a sale. By the end of it all Gilbert managed to sell all of his birds in one day, which was some kind of record. He attributed it to Matthew wearing his favorite pants as they were walking back to his farm with an empty cart being led by a worn out and irritable mule.

“I’m telling you, those are my lucky charm. I mean, not like someone as awesome as me needs one... Do you think he’ll wear them to our date?” Gilbert asked from just ahead of Feliciano and Ludwig where he was leading the mule.

Ludwig rolled his eyes and Feliciano giggled next to him. “Sure, if you're lucky.” He replied, shaking his head at his brother’s blatant desperation.

Feliciano hummed thoughtfully next to him, his eyebrows drawn together in that way he did when he was thinking hard on something. “Now that I think about it, Matthew looks a lot like someone from my pa-... like someone my family adopted a while back. I noticed it in the bakery but I just remembered it now.” He said distantly, most likely recalling images of both Matthew and the person from his pack for comparison.

Gilbert took his turn to look thoughtful, “Huh, Matthew once said that Francis was kind of like his adoptive older brother since he found him as a little one in France, mentioned something about leaving family behind there. Maybe he has a long lost twin or something. Do you think there could be two Matties?” He asked only half jokingly and more than a little excitedly, Gilbird seemed to sense his excitement and clucked softly while turning his head around as if looking for the source of it.

Feliciano looked like he was desperately trying not to burst into hysterical laughter, Ludwig could guess that maybe the supposed “long lost twin” in question wasn’t exactly what Gilbert was fantasizing about. But he just tried to cover up his snort with the hand that wasn’t holding a glass figurine and replied with, “Yeah, sure, could be.” In a strained voice.

The rest of the way back was mostly Gilbert going on and on about Matthew and how great their date was most certainly going to be. Around half way Feliciano seemed to space out and have some sort of epiphany, although Ludwig didn’t know about what and when he asked Feliciano got a bit flustered and avoided the question. He said something about apologizing to his brother, but that was the only thing he said about it. Once they were back to Gilbert’s farm, Ludwig helped Gilbert put away his cart before saying goodbye and heading back to his own farm with Feliciano. 

By the time Ludwig got done with his end of the day chores Feliciano was so worn out he insisted on being carried over Ludwig’s shoulder back to the house. Ludwig tried to ignore how warm he was and how he could feel Feliciano’s stomach muscles moving when he talked or laughed. He realized that he was being ridiculous when he remembered that he had slept in the same bed with him before so closeness shouldn’t have been a problem. He had to stop himself when he started recalling sappy little details about how small Feliciano was when he slept next to him and how he tended to be a cuddler. He assured himself that those kinds of things were just something any person would recall about spending a night with someone, nothing weird.

Ludwig made them both dinner and while they were eating Feliciano explained to him that Matthew smelled like a half wolf, he wanted to make another trip into town with a friend of his. Once they were done talking over emptied dinner plates and the sun was dipping below the trees it was time for Feliciano to go back to the pack for the night. Ludwig opened the door for him and stepped out with him onto the porch, reminding himself that no he wasn’t trying to be chivalrous or anything it was just a common polite gesture. “Goodnight, Feli. See you tomorrow?” He asked, as if it were still a question he even needed to ask.

Feliciano giggled, he tended to do that a lot when he was tired and it wasn’t adorable at all to Ludwig, no sir. “ _Sì_ , see you tomorrow Ludy.” He confirmed, running his thumb over one of the ears on the little blue glass wolf in his hands.

Ludwig leaned down some so that Feliciano could kiss him on both cheeks goodbye like he always did. This time Feliciano took a second to look over Ludwig’s face and tangle a hand into the hair on the back of his head to bring him down to a better height before he planted a kiss on both of his cheeks in a bit more of a lingering fashion than he usually did. When he pulled away he had an odd glint to his eyes that most definitely did not make something warm and spreading sprout up in Ludwig’s chest. Feliciano gave him one last sweet smile before turning to run off his porch and into the trees next to his house. 

Ludwig watched him disappear into the forest that was growing darker with the setting sun before he finally straightened up from his stooped over position only to lean his back against the door frame. He dragged a hand down his face and let out a frustrated, nearly pained groan. He needed to think.


	4. A Pleasant Surprise for Matthew and a Not so Pleasant One for Gilbert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fist fights are an age old tradition at family reunions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so soap opera-y and weird, I mostly wanted to just get it done and out of the way because I have the later chapters more developed. I'm also working on parallel works with Antonio and Lovino's sides of the story as well as Matthew and Gilbert's. I might also do Alfred and Ivan's and Arthur and Francis's side stories once I'm done with this work. But we'll just have to wait and see~

The half wolves of the pack were getting the day started, groggy shapes rose from their sleeping nests of animal hides and started to get into groups to attend to the day’s duties. The sun was just starting to light up the sky orange and the air was still damp with dew while Feliciano was just waking up, later than the rest of the pack as usual. After a few more minutes of deliberating waking up, he stretched the sleep from his limbs and got up to go get his share of the morning meal. 

He managed to get a good piece of deer flank that his grandpa Roma had saved for him earlier. He sat down under a tree near the overhang that the sleeping nests were situated under. The pack had dug back into the hill a short ways as well as made a canopy from tightly woven branches that extended out from the entrance. He always loved how cozy it was to sleep surrounded by his family and friends. Although he liked sleeping in Ludwig’s bed with him better, it was just so warm and intimate.

Feliciano had been thinking about Ludwig a lot, he just couldn’t help it. It had been about a week and a half since the day he, Ludwig, and Gilbert had gone into town and his want to get closer to Ludwig had only gotten worse. He started to realize that he was attracted to him a while before that day but since that day Ludwig seemed to be acting strange. Feliciano sometimes caught him staring at him, although Feliciano was guilty of staring at him as well so he couldn’t talk much. But Ludwig also started becoming more awkward about things like sleeping in the same bed, which they had done a couple more times at Feliciano’s request. 

Feliciano had worried if he was being too obvious with his feelings for Ludwig and if it was making him uncomfortable but other times he wondered if it was Ludwig being shy because he felt the same. It was torture for him and sometimes the wondering was enough to make him want to scream. But no matter how frustrating not knowing Ludwig’s feelings was he just couldn’t get him out of his head.

It was the very first time Feliciano had ever had feelings like that for someone and it was both scary and exciting to him. It was exciting in the sense that he was experiencing something new, like every day was the new part of an adventure. But it was scary because he had absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing at all. He didn’t know how humans went about propositioning each other for being mates, or even if they had life mates. The fact that Ludwig was human also kind of complicated things in the fact that he couldn’t ask for advice from anyone in his pack or mention Ludwig to them ever. But he figured he could just figure things out as he went, who really needed advice anyways? Trial and error was most likely the best way to learn. Or at least he hoped it was. 

What could be complex about things like that, after all? All he knew was that he wanted to be close to him all the time because he was kind and diligent and strong but still so gentle when he needed to be. Sometimes when he hugged Ludwig he couldn’t help but just bury his head into his shirt and drink in his scent. It was sweet and yet musky at the same time and just _good_ in ways that made him feel dizzy and maybe a little bit tingly. He even absconded with a set of clothes from Ludwig both for wearing to his house and for smelling the remnants of Ludwig’s scent on it before Ludwig made him wash them and gave him a fresh set. He kept the clothes under his nest along with his glass wolf, he liked to look at it and run his fingers over the smooth edges of it before he went to sleep. The blue was the same shade as Ludwig’s eyes, it’s why it caught his eye in the first place.

It seemed like he wasn’t the only one preoccupied by having interest in a human either. Lovino had fixed his relationship with Antonio the same day Feliciano and Ludwig went into town. He came back to the pack that night seeming like his mind was elsewhere, but he wasn’t moping. He didn’t even snap at Feliciano when he asked about what had happened with his brother that day. He actually calmly explained that he and Antonio had talked and agreed to get to know each other properly. Ever since then Lovino had been sneaking off to Antonio’s house before the sun rose and the pack woke up, just to make sure no one would follow him. But since that day Lovino seemed more… Content? He almost never acted happy but he wasn’t angry either. He only yelled and got flustered at most when Feliciano asked him about Antonio. Some days he even managed to get him to talk about his days spent with the Spanish man, Feliciano was just happy to know that his brother had found someone to make him happy.

Gilbert was also making headway with what Ludwig called “courting” Matthew. The two had their date a few days after they first made the plans and Gilbert had been walking on clouds ever since then. Ludwig and Feliciano had taken a couple more trips into town to get certain things, it was getting close to harvest time so Ludwig needed to make sure certain tools were in proper order. Gilbert went down with them whenever he had the chance and went by himself at every opportunity he had. Any excuse that Gilbert come up with to go to the bakery, he would take it.

For Feliciano everything was wonderful and exciting. He was experiencing what it was like to start to be bonded to someone as a mate, watching his brother go through the same thing, and all of it was a secret to the pack. It was kind of thrilling to sneak around to see his human and the human friends he was making. Well, most likely half wolf in Matthew’s case. And he didn’t know what the hell Ivan was but he made him nervous.

Thinking of Matthew reminded him of the fact that that day was the day that Ludwig had promised to take him and his friend Alfred to the bakery in town so Alfred could meet Matthew. Ludwig said it was a ridiculous idea and that they would only be bugging Matthew during work but Feliciano managed to convince him that he was sure about this. And “convincing him” really meant that he clung to him and whined like a child until he caved.

It had taken a while to catch Alfred on a free day where he didn’t have hunting, gathering, or patrol duty but surprisingly easy to get him to come on just the premise of “I have someone I want you to meet.” He just seemed pretty eager to both get out of the pack for a while and to be a part of something that could be considered an adventure.

As they’d planned, Alfred trotted up to Feliciano where he sat eating his breakfast at their designated meeting place under the tree. He was in his wolf form when he approached him, he gave a friendly bark in greeting and let his tongue loll out of his mouth. He even seemed to smile when he was in his wolf form. He was more appropriately sized for a half wolf than Feliciano, his shoulder would come up to Ludwig’s hip but he was still just only slightly above the average size. His coat was a golden color on his back, the same color as his hair in his human form, his underbelly was white, and his eyes were a vivid blue that sparked with energy. He didn’t have the longer patch of fur on top of his head like Feliciano and his brother did but he did have an odd little curl of hair on his head that would stick up no matter how hard anyone tried to get it to lay flat.

He quickly switched to his human form as he sat down next to him, his nakedness barely making Feliciano blink. “Sup, dude! You ready to get going?” He said in his usual odd way of speaking. He came from France and yet he had a weird accent that was almost a lack of an accent, along with those downright unusual turns of phrase he used. Those in the pack blamed it on the head injury he had when they found him wandering aimlessly in the scorched remains of a forest in France that they passed through on their way North from Italy.

Feliciano smiled back at him and nodded, “ _Sì_ , just let me finish eating and grab something from my nest and we’ll head out… Oh, and you might want to at least put on a deer hide skirt before we go.” He said before he took another couple bites, trying to quickly finish his food.

Alfred groaned, “What? Whyyy~? It’s hot out and there aren’t even any mosquitoes out!” He complained loudly.

Feliciano shushed him, “Just trust me, humans are really weird when it comes to people being naked. Until we can get you in some human clothes you’ll have to wear something. I know it sucks but some of their clothes are actually pretty comfortable!” He explained in a hushed tone.

Alfred sighed dramatically, “Fiiinnneee~.” He continued to grumble as Feliciano ate the last bits of meat and got up with him, “Gonna suck ass… Hot as balls out, gonna roast in stupid human clothes…” Feliciano opted to simply give an eye roll and ignore his petulant griping. The two of them headed back into the overhang through the moss and leaf curtain the pack had put up around the area the sleeping nests were kept. His nest was way in the back along with his grandpa Roma’s and Lovino’s, the back was where the alpha and his family slept. Feliciano grabbed the clothes Ludwig had given him and quickly wrapped them in one of the layers of deer hide that made up his nest.

Feliciano situated the bundle under his arm so that no clothes were peaking out from under the hide, then he turned back to Alfred where he was pouting behind him, now wearing a deerskin skirt that he put on while Feliciano was getting his clothes. He nodded to the entrance and they both headed out. They somehow managed to get out of the pack without someone stopping them to ask where they were headed, the two of them weren’t exactly masters at looking inconspicuous. They hurried into the cover of the woods and headed towards Ludwig’s house.

On the way to Ludwig’s house Alfred and Feliciano chattering back and forth about the plan for the day. Feliciano explained that they were going to go to the bakery in town to meet someone who he was very, very sure was a half wolf. He didn’t mention that he was also pretty sure that Matthew was his brother, he wanted that to be a surprise. They had to stop once so Feliciano could change into his clothes, even though Feliciano loved to see Ludwig blush when he “forgot” to wear anything other than a deerskin skirt, if anything at all. He thought is was cute but he decided that it was best to leave his antics for when Alfred wasn’t there. Once they were at the edge of the woods next to Ludwig’s house Alfred made Feliciano stop to crouch behind the bushes.

They could see Ludwig on his porch from where they were, Antonio was at his house along with Lovino. Antonio had something metal in his hands and he seemed upset about something, pointing at certain places on the object with only a half hearted smile on his face. Ludwig was nodding and listening to him while looking at the metal object.

Feliciano was wondering what it was they were fretting over when Alfred spoke up next to him in a whisper, “What’s Lovino doing over there with those human dudes?” He asked.

Feliciano hummed questioningly before answering, “Oh, don’t worry about him, he’s just here because Antonio is. He’s the Spanish one.” He explained casually.

“Well, I hope he’s being careful. So how’re we gonna get the clothes I need?” He asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Feliciano raised and eyebrow, “Uh, we’re going to walk in?”

Alfred nodded, “Hm, seems risky, I like it! It’s a plan with guts!” He declared.

Felciano was confused about what he meant but he decided to go with… Whatever it was Alfred was talking about, “... Oookaaay? If you say so.” 

Felciano decided that it was time to make his presence known, greet Ludwig with a hug, and maybe get a good whiff of his scent in the process. He stood up from his hiding place behind the bush and yelled over to where Ludwig stood on the porch, “ _Ciao_ , Ludy!~”

He was about to run over to him to tackle him into a hug when he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and yanked back down behind the bush. Alfred slapped a hand over Feliciano’s mouth, “Are you crazy?! We can’t let them see us, how are we gonna sneak in if they know we’re here?!” He hissed at him urgently.

Feliciano got his hand off his mouth so he could reply, “What do you mean sneak in? We don’t need to, Ludwig is my friend. I’ve known him for over a month now, we can just ask.” He explained. 

Alfred’s eyes went wide, “Whoa whoa whoa, dude are you telling me that you’ve been hanging out with a human? You do realize that showing ourselves to humans is punishable by exile, right? As in _kicked out of the pack_ and _never able to return. **Ever**_.” He whispered urgently.

Feliciano looked at the ground, “Yes, I know. But I’m being really careful about not getting caught. And I know I can trust Ludwig, he would never do anything to hurt me or the pack. I promise it’ll be fine.” He assured Alfred, putting his hands on his shoulders.

Alfred looked unsure but he sighed in resignation, “I can tell you care about this dude something fierce but bad things can still happen. I hope you’re right about this, bro.” 

Feliciano let go of his shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, I know my human.” He stood up again and dusted himself off, the three that had been standing on the porch were making their way over to them.

“Feli? Are you alright?” Ludwig shouted as he walked over.

Feliciano beamed back at him, “ _Sì_ , Ludy. I just had to do some convincing with my friend is all.” He looked back behind him to where Alfred was crouching still and motioned for him to stand up. “This is Alfred, he’s the person I mentioned before.” 

Alfred gave a slightly timid wave to them, “Sup, nice to meet ya.” He seemed a bit intimidated by Ludwig, even though he was a human he was still a good couple inches taller than Alfred and a little more bulky than him too. 

“Well this is fan-fucking-tastic, now you’ve dragged another member of the pack into this bound for disaster shit fest.” Lovino complained loudly before Ludwig had a chance to return the greeting.

Feliciano stuck his tongue out at his brother, “Oh hush, Lovi, it’ll be fine.” 

“ _Dios mio_ , it seems like everyone I meet nowadays is part wolf.” Antonio mumbled to himself. 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Alfred.” Ludwig said politely before he turned to Feliciano, “Good morning Feli, go ahead and get some clothes that fit him from the house. I still need to finish my morning chores, I’ll get them done while you get him dressed. I know I said I would come with you into town but something came up with Antonio. He needs me to go with him to Ivan’s to help him get buckle to a saddle fixed.” He explained.

Antonio cut in, “The poor _caballo_ (horse) got spooked. She managed to knock down the saddle while I was trying to put it on her and stomp right on the buckle. I can’t train her to ride if I don’t have the saddle that fits her and the customer I’m selling her to wants her fully trained. _Lo siento_ (I’m sorry) Feli, but it’s really important.” Next to Antonio Lovino slouched and looked at the ground, Feliciano could guess that the horse being spooked was probably Lovino’s doing. 

Feliciano pouted a bit, “Aw, okay. Maybe you can try to meet us in the bakery once you get done?” He asked.

Ludwig smiled and tousled his hair, “Sure, now go do what you need to, I’ll head to the barn. _Beeil dich._ (hurry up.)”

Feliciano smiled back at him, “Ve, we’ll be quick. Come on Alfred.” Feliciano grabbed Alfred’s arm and started to drag him towards the house. Antonio went with Ludwig to the barn, and because Antonio was going so was Lovino by default. Feliciano kept looking back at Ludwig as he walked away, partly sad because he didn’t get his good morning hug but also a little preoccupied with getting a good look at Ludwig’s ass as he walked away. He hated to see him leave but he loved to watch him go. When the two of them reached the porch and Feliciano had to actually watch where he was going he looked back at Alfred to see him looking at Feliciano strangely. “What?” Feliciano asked, his cheeks turning a little pink. 

“Holy shit you wanna be that Ludwig dude’s mate, don’t you?” He asked, disbelief plain in his voice and on his face. 

Feliciano’s face went ruddy red from the tips of his ears to his neck, he looked at the wooden slats of the porch. “N-no!... Okay, maybe…” He murmured as he opened the front door and walked into the house. 

Alfred followed close behind him, “Bro, that is a seriously bad idea. We don’t know anything about humans. What if their traditions include, like… I dunno… Eating their mate’s head like a praying mantis or something?” 

Feliciano made a face, “Ew, Alfred don’t be gross! I know enough by now to know that they don’t seem to have any weird traditions, and nothing like that. It’ll probably be fine, he probably doesn’t even feel the same way so it isn’t even likely to ever happen.” He said, his tone trailing off into a more melancholy one as he spoke. The two of them headed upstairs and into Ludwig’s bedroom. Feliciano quickly went to work rummaging through Ludwig’s dresser for clothes that might fit Alfred. 

Alfred paced around behind him, “Are you kidding me? I saw how he was going all mushy eyed at you. That’s what made me start to be concerned, dude is way into you. That’s the problem. You can’t get so heavy involved with humans, bro. It won't end well for anybody.” 

Feliciano pulled out a pair of plain, brown pants and a white button up shirt. “You worry too much, it’ll be fine.” He said with a smile as he handed him the set of clothes. In truth, he was equal parts happy to hear that there was a possibility that Ludwig felt the same about him and worried that what he was doing really was going to end in disaster. He tried to be optimistic and put the idea out of his head, focusing on getting Alfred into his clothes.

Ludwig’s clothes were big on Alfred but they worked well enough. Thankfully Alfred dropped the subject of the possible outcomes of Feliciano and Ludwig’s relationship. They met Ludwig, Antonio, and Lovino at the barn where they had just finished feeding and watering the animals. Feliciano finally got his hug from Ludwig which made Lovino pitch a fit. It was worth it.

All five of them started in the direction of town. Feliciano chattered both at Ludwig and with Alfred, Ludwig said that Alfred kind of reminded him of his older brother in a way. Alfred assumed that it was a compliment, Feliciano wasn’t so sure. Antonio interjected his thoughts every so often but he mostly kept to talking to Lovino. Feliciano noticed that even while his brother seemed to be sulking about Feliciano giving Ludwig more attention, Antonio was able to bring him out of it. The two seemed closer than the two brothers were, even though they had just started really talking a week and a half ago. Feliciano felt a bit of jealousy at first but then decided that it was silly to be jealous, Lovino’s relationship with Toni was different, after all.

The group stopped at Ivan’s house on the way to town, Feliciano got another hug while Lovino wasn’t looking. Feliciano said a quick hello to Ivan and then him and Alfred headed towards town. It took a while for them to actually reach the bakery, Feliciano had only been there a few times and the two of them didn’t have the best senses of direction so they took a few twists and turns through the streets. Feliciano even lost Alfred for a minute. They passed by a street that had a flower shop on it and Alfred went to go check it out while Feliciano was too busy day dreaming about Ludwig to notice he’d gone off in a different direction. He found his way back to Feliciano with a soured mood, apparently some rude asshole ran right into Alfred and refused to apologize. Feliciano convinced him that it was something to just leave in the past, he said he would probably never see the guy again anyway. 

After a while they did find their way to the square where the bakery was located. It was busy as always but some of the vendors and people were starting to clear out, some clouds were moving in overhead and the smell of incoming rain was so thick in the air even the humans could smell it. Feliciano could barely contain his excitement as they approached the bakery, he went in ahead of Alfred. “ _Ciao_ Matthew! I have a surprise for you!~” He sing songed as he bounced into the bakery.

Matthew looked up over his glasses where he was reading a book at the counter, “Oh, _bonjour_ Feliciano, good to see you. What surprise do you mean?... Who’s this?” He asked in his usual soft spoken manner, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Alfred had stopped in the doorway, he was intensely scrutinizing Matthew with squinted eyes and a look of concentration, like he had seen his face from somewhere but just couldn’t place him. Feliciano bounced on his heals, “Matthew, meet Alfred Jones. Alfred, meet Matthew… Uh, Matthew, I never learned your last name.” He admitted bashfully. 

Matthew had a contemplative look on his face that almost perfectly mirrored that of Alfred’s, “My last name since I was adopted by Francis is Bonnefoy but it used to be Jones- Do… Do I know you from somewhere, Alfred?” He asked.

Alfred didn’t answer his question, instead he started sniffing the air. He walked towards Matthew where he was standing behind the counter while Feliciano stood out of the way near the door, trying to keep quiet so he wouldn’t interrupt them. Alfred started smelling Matthew, which seemed to make him rather uncomfortable and confused, “U-um, sir?” He stammered. When Alfred got a good whiff from around his neck he stopped dead, a flicker of recognition flashing in his bright blue eyes. 

Alfred snatched Matthew’s glasses off his face without warning so he could get a good look at his face, it made Matthew finch. When he did get a look at his bare face his eyes went wide and he froze, “... Matt? Little bro?” He whispered.

The same recognition that passed over Alfred’s face was reflected in Matthew’s as he heard this person, who was supposed to be just a stranger to him, call him an old nickname he hadn’t heard in years. “... Al?” He shook his head in disbelief, “But… But the fire, it destroyed everything… Got separated and ran for the town… Whole pack gone, can’t be…” He muttered to himself, unable to take his eyes off Alfred’s face.

“Everyone ran the wrong way, we were looking for mom and dad but I got hit in the head by a falling branch when the tree fell between us. When I came to you were gone so I ran in the direction we were heading before, hoping I could find you…” He whispered. Feliciano had never heard him speak so softly before.

Matthew looked like he was starting to tear up, he shook his head in disbelief, “There’s no way, there’s no possible way… It can’t be you...” He whispered.

Alfred smiled at him, a sheen of tears forming over his eyes as well, “Hey little bro, long time no see, huh?”

Matthew’s lower lip wobbled before he flung himself against Alfred to hug him, burying his face in his brother’s shoulder. Alfred returned the embrace as he tried to blink away the happy tears in his eyes. Feliciano was standing near the door sniveling and crying his eyes out at the pure joy of the moment. 

A customer knocking at the door completely shattered the moment. Feliciano didn’t even bother to open the door, he just screeched “ **Go away, we’re closed! You’re ruining the moment, _stonato!_** (stupid)” at the person behind the door, they got the idea and left in a hurry. The two brothers behind the counter, still hugging, looked from the door, to Feliciano, back to each other, and both burst into laughter. Feliciano joined in and the three of them laughed until they had to stop to wipe their running noses and damp cheeks with their shirt sleeves.

“You know what, Feliciano? That sounds like a pretty good idea. Could you please flip that sign in the window to say that we’re closed? I’ll help close the curtains, we have a lot to catch up on.” Matthew said. Feliciano nodded and did as he was told.

Once all the curtains were drawn and shop closed, Matthew pulled up a few chairs and he and Alfred started to talk. Feliciano was happy to sit back and listen while the two brothers recounted how they came to have their current lives. Alfred explained how he wandered through the remains of the forest even after the fire burnt itself out, searching for anyone from his old pack. That’s when Feliciano’s pack found him by random chance and adopted him in to be raised with the other children of the pack. Matthew explained how he managed to survive in his wolf form on the streets of a town until Francis took him in, thinking he was just a little stray puppy. He ended up receiving the shock of his life when that stray pup turned into a little boy in his sleep. Instead of getting rid of him, Francis decided to take him in and raise him as an apprentice. Feliciano laughed and said that was kind of like how he accidentally revealed himself to Ludwig. When Matthew asked him why he was sleeping in a grown man’s bed with him he quickly changed the subject back to the brothers’ reminiscing. 

They chatted and caught up until a familiar albino burst through the front door of the shop while shouting in a distinct German accent, “Ey Mattie!~ What’s up with the bakery being closed so early? Did-... Who’s that? Feliciano what are you doing here?” Gilbert asked with a raised eyebrow, a bouquet of white trillium flowers in his hand.

Matthew stood up while Alfred squinted at Gilbert, “Gilbert! It’s so wonderful, you’ll never guess who-”

Alfred interrupted loudly, “ _ **Hey!**_ You’re that dick-hole that ran right into me at that flower shop and refused to say sorry!” He yelled, nearly knocking the chair he was sitting in backwards as he stood up with his shoulders squared. 

Matthew put a hand on his brother’s shoulder to try and calm him, “Alfred, calm down, I’m sure he-” 

This time it was Gilbert who interrupted him, “I don’t need to apologize, _dummkopf_ , you were the one who ran head on into me! Matthew, who is this?” He asked without taking his glare off of Alfred. Feliciano tried to shrink into his chair, he always hated confrontations like this.

“He’s my-”

“I’m his brother, you rude son of a bitch! Who the hell are _you_?” Alfred interjected.

This made Gilbert stop for a second, but his anger came back in full force along with some heavy skepticism, “Oh really? Like I believe that for a second. If you really must know he’s _my_ lover. So drop the shitty attitude and get out of my face!” The two of them were yelling now and Matthew was joining Feliciano in his attempts to try and disappear. 

“Yeah, I am his brother! And I know that my sweet baby bro could never be with such a festering douche-hole like yourself!” Alfred shouted.

That’s when Gilbert decided to throw the first punch. It connected with Alfred’s lower jaw with a smack that made Feliciano squeak quietly and Matthew gasp and cover his mouth. Alfred slowly turned his head to look at him, his lip pulling up into a snarl to show that his fangs were starting to get longer. He switched forms in the blink of an eye, he didn’t rip out of the clothes he was wearing, they were too loose on him for that. But now there was a very large, very angry wolf growling at Gilbert in place of the man he’d just punched. 

Gilbert screamed as Alfred lunged forward, only to be intercepted on his way to attacking Gilbert by Matthew slamming into his side, also now in his wolf form. Matthew was a bit shaggier than his brother, a little bit of a different shade of light brown, and only slightly smaller. His pants hung off him in tatters but his preferring to wear baggy shirts made sure that his shirt was still in tact. Alfred went after his own brother in a blind rage. Feliciano knew how half wolves got in this state of mind, who ever was fighting them was the target no matter who they were originally pissed at. Instincts were more dominant than friendship, family, and reason when two half wolves were in a fight. 

Feliciano hopped behind the counter to avoid any stray claws or fangs and started screaming. Gilbert was still screaming, now backed up against a shelf on a wall with his bouquet laying abandoned on the floor. Francis came downstairs from his and Matthew’s home above the bakery to see what all the noise was about and started screaming along with them, mostly French swears. Matthew and Alfred clawed, rolled, and snapped blindly at each other on the floor, knocking over tables and shelves as they struggled.

The door to the bakery opened and Feliciano could have swore he heard some German curses being shouted from the doorway. Then there was a deafening bang from just outside the bakery door that made Feliciano’s sensitive ears ring. The noise got the attention of Francis and Gilbert and made the two wolves on the floor back away from each other and wince, finally snapped out of their rages. 

Ivan stood at the doorway to the bakery, one of his hands holding a smoking pistol raised in the air. Ludwig, Antonio, and Lovino were all standing on either sides of him with their hands still clasped over their ears. The big Russian man put his gun back in it’s holster and turned to the very startled people out in the square, “Do not worry good people, we will take care of the problem, _da_?” He said calm as ever before he turned to walk into the bakery, motioning for the other three beside him to follow. All of them stepped inside and Ivan closed the door behind them, Feliciano hopped over the counter and ran to hide behind Ludwig.

They all stood in silence for a while. Alfred and Matthew sat like two puppies that were ashamed for doing something bad, Alfred bowed his head to his brother and whined in apology, Matthew accepted it by licking the top of his head. Gilbert looked terrified and confused and kind of like he was about to pass out. Francis was standing at the foot of the stairs, clutching his chest like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment. Feliciano and Lovino hid behind their respective humans and Ivan stood in the middle of it all with that eerie smirk on his face. Feliciano thought he noticed Alfred looking Ivan over with curiosity flickering in his eyes.

Ludwig was the first to break the silence, he cleared his throat, “So, will anyone be willing to explain what happened here? Feliciano?” He turned to look at Feliciano where he was cowering behind him. 

“Well…” He started a bit unsurely, “Alfred and Gilbert got in a fight and Alfred lost his temper after Gilbert threw a punch. Then Matthew jumped in to keep Gilbert safe. Things just got out of hand so fast.” Feliciano explained timidly. Ludwig nodded in understanding, he patted Feliciano on the head and let him cling to him and bury his face in his shirt.

“So… They’re really wolves? Those two?” Gilbert spoke up from where he was huddled against the shelf. 

Ludwig shook his head, “They’re half wolves, kind of like the werewolves of legend but they aren’t mindless and they can control their transformations. Feliciano and Lovino are half wolves too. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you but the less people to know about it, the better. And we didn’t know that Matthew was one of them until recently.” He explained calmly. Feliciano admired his ability to keep his cool under such tense circumstances. 

Gilbert closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Okay, so let me get this straight… _you’re_ really half dog-” He pointed at Matthew, “ _You’re_ really half dog-” He pointed at Feliciano, “And _you’re_ really half dog.” He pointed at Lovino, “ _Are there any more people in my life that are actually half animals that I should know about?!_ ” He exclaimed.

Ivan slowly raised his hand. Gilbert let out a frustrated shout.

Everyone now had their eyes on Ivan. “Wait, you’re a half wolf too?” Ludwig asked, sounding a little exasperated.

Ivan shook his head, “ _Nyet_ , I am what we call the _медведь люди_ , or in the English language, the bear people. We live far North and we are fewer in numbers than the half wolves. I would show you all my other form but I like these clothes. Some other time, _da_?” He explained. Feliciano knew that he thought Ivan smelled sort of like a bear, his grandpa Roma caught a bear for dinner once. He silently decided to never let Ivan know that. 

Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and let it out in a huff, “I’m not even surprised anymore, to be honest. All that being as it may, again, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you this Gilbert. It’s a very well kept secret, me and Antonio weren’t even supposed to know but we found out by chance. I don’t know why you were fighting with Alfred but I suggest you both swallow your pride and apologize to each other.” His brother looked like he wanted to argue with Ludwig but he was still busy processing things so he kept quiet. Ludwig turned to Francis where he was fawning over Matthew and checking him for injuries like a concerned mother, “Francis, could you go get Matthew some pants so he can switch back and talk to Gilbert? I’m sure they have much to discus.” He suggested. 

Francis nodded frantically, “ _Oui_ , come with me Matthew, let's get you dressed so you can tell me if that big brute hurt you anywhere.” Francis shot a glare over to Alfred who lowered his head in shame at the scolding. The flamboyant Frenchman mumbled to himself a little with a soft sigh and picked up Matthew’s now cracked glasses off the ground as he went, “All this happens right before I was going to meet Arthur at the library too. Eh, the bastard can wait for me a while more.” Matthew told Alfred that it was okay and that he forgave him in the language of half wolves, although he was rusty at best the message got across well enough. Matthew followed Francis to the stairs, on the way he glanced back at Gilbert with a lingering, sad look before he continued on his way upstairs.

Ludwig sighed, “Well, I better leave you to get things settled, ‘ey brother? Don’t go home too late.” He said as he turned to the door.

Gilbert stopped him, “Whoa whoa whoa, wait! How the hell am I supposed to deal with this? I just found out that Mattie is part _dog_!” Feliciano flinched and both Lovino and Alfred both growled softly when Gilbert spat out the word “dog” like it was a bad thing to be what he was. 

Ludwig sighed again, “I can’t fix everything for you Gilbert.” He said, exasperated.

Surprising to everyone, Antonio spoke up, “If I may add something, _mi amigo_ , he isn’t really any different from before. I just recently found out that little Lovi here is half wolf too.” He motioned to Lovino, who looked a little uncomfortable and even sheepish to be brought into the conversation, “I knew him as a wolf and now I’m getting to know him as a person as well. He’s the same dog I knew, only more things are out in the open now and I’m getting to know him better. Just like Matthew is still the same man you knew before you saw him change, it’s just that there’s one less secret between you. Just try to listen to him and have an open mind, _sí_? I’ll see you later, Gilbert.” He turned to walk out the door with Lovino in tow.

Gilbert and Alfred grumbled to themselves quietly and refused to look at each other as Ludwig, Feliciano, and Ivan followed Antonio and Lovino out of the bakery. Feliciano glanced back to notice that Alfred was watching Ivan leave with that curious look in his eyes again. After a while of the five of the walking out of the square in silence Feliciano whispered to Ludwig, “Do you think they’ll be okay?” He asked.

Ludwig looked at his feet as he walked, his brows creased in thought, “I don’t know. I know for sure that my brother is too proud to apologize, I don’t know about Alfred but he seems the same way. Those two will just have to settle it their own way. As for Gilbert and Matthew, I just hope my idiot brother doesn’t just throw the whole relationship away because of this. He can be rather obtuse when it comes to certain things.” He explained quietly to keep the conversation between him and Feliciano. Antonio and Lovino were having their own conversation a few feet away and Ivan seemed to be just enjoying the walk, even if it was overcast and about to rain.

Feliciano slumped his shoulders and hung his head a little, “I should have never brought Alfred down here today, this is my fault.” He mumbled, feeling the weight of guilt settle in his chest.

Ludwig wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against his side, “There was no way you could have known that would happen, even I didn’t know Gilbert was coming into town today. Lets just get home before it rains, I’ll make us some tea and we can have a lazy day inside while we wait for the rain to pass. How does that sound?”

Feliciano gave him a small smile, “Thank you Ludy. That does sound nice.” He leaned his head against Ludwig’s side.

The group of five walked out of town together, it was mostly quiet save for a few quiet conversations between Ludwig and Feliciano or Antonio and Lovino. Ivan hummed some nameless Russian folk songs and commented about how the rain would do his sunflowers good, but other than that he was content with being a man of few words. He said goodbye and stopped at his house along the way as the others continued. It just started to rain as the four of them were entering Ludwig’s property, Lovino and Antonio gave hasty goodbyes and ran in the direction of Antonio’s farm. 

Ludwig and Feliciano sprinted to the house as it started to pour. Feliciano giggled like he was a child again and stomped in the quickly forming puddles as he ran, the ground being too dry to soak up the water right away. Somehow Ludwig and Feliciano ended up racing back to the house, Feliciano won. Ludwig jokingly claimed that Feliciano cheated because him being a half wolf made him faster. Feliciano just responded by sticking his tongue out at him. 

The two of them dried off and changed out of their wet clothes. Ludwig made them some earl grey tea, he’d discovered that it was Feliciano’s favorite. Once they both had tea Ludwig sat down in his chair in the living room to patch up some of the holes in his socks. Feliciano insisted on sitting in his lap as he sewed, he told him it was because he was cold and wanted to take a nap. Ludwig just smiled and said it was okay so long as he didn’t disrupt what he was doing. Feliciano happily curled up on his lap with his head on Ludwig’s shoulder, pulling a blanket over the two of them. Feliciano drifted off to sleep feeling warm and safe, his head filled with Ludwig’s scent, the steady thump of his heartbeat, and the sound of the summer rain pattering against the window.


	5. Coming to Terms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ludwig has to face some facts about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooooooo boy did this take longer than necessary. My levels of motivation for doing anything but doing the bare minimum to live are very very low so please be patient with my poor tired soul. At least this chapter gets really gay and is super long so that's a plus I guess.

“Ludy?”

“Hmm?”

“Are your free days always this boring?” 

Ludwig sighed and rolled his eyes, “It’s only boring if you aren’t doing anything, and as you can see, I’m trying to read at the moment.” Ludwig sat on his porch, a book in his hands and Feliciano draped over his lap while he whined at him about being bored.

Feliciano sighed back at him in a more dramatic fashion, “But how can reading be fun? It’s just looking at a bunch of squiggles on flat sheets of… wood? I think that’s what it is. Why do humans have such weird pastimes?”

Ludwig couldn’t help but smile and shake his head, he two of them jokingly calling the other’s species weird had become a sort of running joke. They didn’t even mean most of what they said and it had gotten to a point of ridiculousness where it was just pointing out the dumbest things and calling it weird, even if they were things shared by humans and half wolves. They had several other in jokes, many of which had stories too convoluted and odd to be able to explain to people and have it be as funny as it was to them. “Believe it or not the ‘squiggles’ actually have meanings that form stories that are fairly interesting. Also yes that is pretty much what paper is and it can’t be any weirder than half wolf pastimes.” He replied playfully. Feliciano stuck his tongue out at him and Ludwig couldn’t help but laugh.

“But really, all you have to do on Sundays is feed, water, and let out the animals in the morning and then put them away at night and then the rest of the day is free time. Why don’t you do anything but sit around and read?” He asks, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt like he wanted to take it off. Ludwig knew that he did. Feliciano had been complaining and itching for any chance to get out of human clothes at any chance he could get. Ludwig had to admit that it made him nervous in an odd way that he didn’t want to think about to think that Feliciano was fully willing to undress in front of him. Feliciano made him feel a lot of things that he didn’t want to think about.

Ludwig shrugged, “There’s not much else to do, I can’t go into town because everyone is at church on Sundays and I can’t visit Gilbert either because Matthew started dragging him to church with him and Francis.” He replied, giving up on trying to read his book and bookmarking the page before closing it.

Feliciano snickered, “Oh yeah, I think they made Alfred go with them once too. Matthew said it was a nice way for all of them to spend a morning. Then Alfred came home to the pack and told me it was the most boring experience ever and that he couldn’t even sleep through it because that would be rude.” He grinned mischievously and laughed at the past lamenting of his friend and packmate. 

Ludwig smiled and figured that Matthew was probably just trying to get Gilbert and Alfred into a setting where they could be together and they had to behave in the meantime. He was most likely also trying to get Francis warmed up to the idea of Gilbert being his lover and Alfred being his long lost brother. The older Frenchman had no qualms about Gilbert being a man but he was wary of letting Gilbert anywhere near his “ _petit frère doux_ ” (sweet little brother). Ludwig couldn’t blame him much, Gilbert didn’t exactly put out the air of a responsible man, let alone a responsible partner. And Francis wasn’t very fond of Alfred since the first time he met him he was in his wolf form and trying to tear Matthew to pieces. So Matthew put in as much effort as he could into making the three of them get along.

Well, he had to force Francis to be cordial with the other two rather than get Alfred and Gilbert to get along after about a week after the whole incident in the bakery. They did hold some lingering bitterness towards each other and stubbornly refused to even speak to each other when they happened to meet up with Matthew at the same time at first. The two of them had a horrible habit of just showing up places when they felt like it without any warning before hand and they ended up both being around Matthew at the same time a lot that way. But once they warmed up to each other and actually started talking they got along like a house on fire. A week later and you could barely find Gilbert without finding Alfred as well. Somehow Alfred even forgave the fact that Gilbert was his younger brother’s lover. 

They were both equally obnoxious, arrogant, and immature and when you mixed the two it was like giving a couple already overly energetic children some sweets and setting them loose in the middle of the market square. Everyone else didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for poor Matthew, who had to be the idiot wrangler on more than one occasion. But Matthew seemed happy that they were friends despite the fact that he was usually stuck listening to their loud bragging and stupid jokes. Ludwig still thought that the two of them were most likely bad for Matthew’s blood pressure, no matter how many times he assured him that he enjoyed being around the two of them.

Ludwig pulled himself from his thoughts about the tragically hilarious nightmare that must have been Matthew’s reality in trying to keep Alfred _and_ Gilbert in line while they were in church, “Anyway, if we can’t go into town and can’t visit anyone, especially not Antonio and Lovino because, as you put it, you don’t want to ‘watch Lovino drool over Toni’s butt’-”

“Don’t judge me, you don’t have to hear him talk about it later,” He interjected before mumbling half to himself, “Well, he doesn’t really _talk_ so much as just makes himself angry over how ‘absolutely perfect his ass is’, his words, not mine. I’ve always wanted him to open up but never this much.”

Ludwig rolled his eyes, “Well, then what do you suggest we do with our free time today if you’re so unsatisfied with how I spend my Sundays?” He asked, leaning over Feliciano a little to look directly down at him where he laid in his lap.

Feliciano’s face lit up and there was an excited glint in his caramel brown eyes, his odd curl of hair doing that little happy bounce that Ludwig was having a harder and harder time denying is cute. “We could do some of the stuff that I used to do for fun! I can show you what it’s like to be a half wolf for a day!” He exclaimed, sitting up and getting off of Ludwig’s lap. Then he paused, “Well, a half wolf who happens to have a lot of free time.”

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, “I suppose but I would have to know what kind of things you have in mind first.” He replied, both curious and hesitant. For all he knew Feliciano could mean running through the woods naked after some deer. 

“Nothing you wouldn’t like, I can at least tell you that. Nothing your poor human heart couldn’t handle,” He teased, making Ludwig roll his eyes at him but he still couldn’t help but smile. Feliciano continued, “But if we’re going to do this I’m going to be the one calling the shots and leading the way, agreed?” He stuck out his hand to Ludwig for him to shake on the deal, it was a gesture he’d learned from Gilbert a few days before when Feliciano traded pastries with him. Ludwig had bought Feliciano a chocolate eclair and Gilbert wanted to swap for his cannoli.

Ludwig shook his head with a smirk and gave Feliciano’s outstretched hand the firm shake his grandfather had taught him many years ago. “It’s a deal, Feli. Lead the way.” 

Instead of letting go of his hand after the shake, Feliciano dragged Ludwig to his feet without warning and pulling him along on his way to the treeline, “ _Ve_! Let’s get going!” He sing songed.

Ludwig stumbled a little at first but quickly fell into step behind him, leaving his book to lay abandoned on the porch behind him. “Wait, we’re going into the forest? Are you sure that’s a good idea? One of the members of your pack could see us.” He pointed out, more concerned about the idea of Feliciano getting in trouble with his pack than what they might do to him if they were caught together. It was sort of funny in a way, like they were partaking in some sort of forbidden affair. Not that he was trying to compare their relationship to an affair, or anything else romantic at all. They were strictly friends at most. Yes, nothing but purely platonic feelings were shared between them.

Feliciano looked back at him with an assuring smile and squeezed his hand lightly, “Don’t worry, Ludy, I know where to go so they won't look for us.” Ludwig felt his stomach do weird things and he suddenly wished that he had some work to do to take his mind off of the feeling like he usually did when that fluttery thing started up in his gut.

Ludwig kept quiet as he followed Feliciano into the trees, feeling the cool of the shade on his skin as they began to move into the underbrush. Ludwig fell into step beside Feliciano, who had still not let go of his hand even though Ludwig was perfectly capable of following him. It was starting to make the fluttering in his stomach feel more like something alive and writhing and warm. He didn’t really understand it because he had never felt anything like it before but something in the back of his head told him that he was experiencing that old English saying about “butterflies in the stomach”. But he wasn’t interested in men, he’d never been before. In fact, he’d never really been interested in anyone before. His mind just kept circling around and around with questions and concerns. “Why Feliciano? Why now? Am I just imagining things and making our friendship out to be more than it is? I’m supposed to be straight. _I’ve always been straight_. Things don’t just change like that.” His head was a whirlwind and he could hardly focus on walking all because Feliciano was just holding his hand. He was confused and kind of frightened and he maybe felt a little like running back to his house to find things to do in order to escape. 

The cyclone of thoughts he was trapped in distracted Ludwig from where he was stepping as he walked and he ended up stumbling over a fallen branch, just barely catching himself before he fell flat on his face. He almost dragged Feliciano down with him and only after he recovered from his near fall did he realize that Feliciano had been trying to tell him something while he was stuck in his own head. He looked up at Ludwig, confused and concerned, “Is something wrong, Ludy? You seem sort of distracted.” He asked, doing that thing he does when he’s wondering about something where he cocks his head to the side a little and Ludwig almost started to head back into that spiral when he couldn’t help but find it cute.

Ludwig shook his head a little and forced himself to come back down to earth so he could answer properly, “I’m fine, but I can really walk on my own without the, erm, assistance.” He said as his eyes flicked down to where their hands were clasped together. 

“Oh, okay.” Feliciano let go of his hand and once he did it felt cold. “I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable, I didn’t really mean to hold on that long. Your hand was really warm and it felt nice to just hold it, I won’t do it again if you don’t like it.” Ludwig didn’t miss the slightly disappointed tone in his voice.

“Well, just give me a warning next time you decide to drag me along by my hand. Now where are we going exactly? I know you’re trying to keep it a mystery but I’d really rather know.” He asked, trying to change the subject as best he could so that Feliciano would just stop trying to cover up how he was obviously disappointed. He also didn’t really want to pay attention to the warm feeling in his chest when Feliciano said that holding his hand felt good. 

Feliciano rolled his eyes and snorted, “Alright, Mr. ‘I need to plan out everything in advance’, we’re going to a nice barberry patch I found a while back. They’re in season and I haven’t really been there at all so most of the berries should still be there, then we can take a _siesta_. It’ll be fun!” He explained cheerfully.

Ludwig ignored the quip and thought that it did sound like a nice way to spend some time, “Hm, sounds good. How far is it?” He asked.

Feliciano hummed in thought as he walked an invisible straight line on the forest floor a few feet ahead of Ludwig, “Not too far, but far enough that the pack won't find us. About an hour or so, give or take some time depending on how fast we go but I’ve never really checked to see how long it was so that’s just a guess.” 

“Really? That far?” Ludwig let out a soft sigh and shrugged, “Well, at least it’ll be a good way to waste part of today.”

Feliciano hopped onto a fallen log and walked backwards to face Ludwig on it with his arms out for balance, “Yeah, I used to wander around a lot and just look for fun things to do, it was a good way to pass the time since I’m not really good at other stuff that needs doing with the pack. Nobody really worried so long as I could find my way back to the pack’s den every day before nightfall. I hate staying at the winter den every year because I never get to wander as much, the snow always hurts my paws and I’m easier to spot in the snow.” He said as the log ended and he had to hop back off.

“Winter den? You don’t live… Wherever you usually go at night all year round?” Ludwig asked. He’d never really learned much about Feliciano’s life, they usually just chatted about nothing in particular, what they were doing at the time, or Feliciano would ask him questions about human life. 

Feliciano shook his head, “Nope, we move down to a place almost a week’s journey south of here in a patch of forest near the sea. The deer get more scarce and harder to catch during winter so being near the sea where we can fish and where there’s coastal caves to live in is better. But we always come back up here in the summer because there are a lot of deer here and no big cities.” He explained, kicking his legs out in front of him to kick at the leaf litter as he walked.

Ludwig hummed thoughtfully as he took in the information, “Huh, I thought you guys were here all year round.” He said before pausing, “Does that mean that you’ll be leaving once the weather gets cold?” He asked.

Feliciano stopped and pondered for a few seconds, “I guess. But I don’t want to, I like it here with you. I don’t know, I don’t really want to think about it right now. I’ll figure it out when the time comes, don’t worry Ludy.” He assured Ludwig with a smile.

Ludwig had mixed feelings, he was touched and actually pretty happy that Feliciano would consider giving up following his friends and family for him. But he was also concerned that he actually _would_ give up his family and friends for him and, contradictory to that, concerned that he wouldn’t do that and leave him at the same time. He decided that he should keep his mixed up emotions to himself and change the subject, “Very well. So, why is it that you have so much free time to laze around my farm all day? Living in the wilderness with a pack full of mouths to feed must be hard work.” He inquired, bumping Feliciano’s shoulder playfully with the question.

“Well, you might have already noticed but me and _mi fratello_ are… Somewhat smaller than the other half wolves. We aren’t that good with hunting because we can’t really take down a deer on our own, and neither of us really have the heart for that anyway. And we don’t do any gathering either because Lovi tends to get frustrated like he does with pretty much everything and people tell me that I get distracted easily. I think the pack is just happy when we aren’t getting in the way of things at the den. I don’t mind though, it just gives me more time to do what I want. And people never argue that I should do more because _nonno_ (grandpa) Roma is the pack alpha, so if they have a problem with us they have to take it to him first.” He explained cheerfully. 

Ludwig smirked, amused, “Sounds like quite the leisurely life you live there, I’m glad that you’ve chosen me to be one of the things you do in your vast amounts of free time-” Ludwig stopped short in his teasing when he realized his Freudian slip, scrambling to fix it, “Wait, no, I meant that _being with me_ is one of the things- um, no no no, that _visiting_ me is one of the things you do in your free time.” He babbled frantically, a thing he very seldom did. He could feel his face getting hotter and it only added to the several levels of embarrassment he was practically throwing himself into.

Meanwhile Feliciano was attempting to keep his face from contorting as he struggled not to laugh. He failed, of course, but Ludwig could tell he really did try. Ludwig shut himself up to keep himself from embarrassing himself any further as Feliciano wheezed. He wanted to bury himself in the leaf litter on the ground and never come back out. Finally Feliciano found his voice again, “I understand what you mean, Ludy, calm down. If you keep trying to fix your mistake you might end up propositioning something you wouldn’t be willing to follow through with. Let’s just keep going. You know, Alfred actually did that whole ‘saying something you didn’t mean to’ thing a lot when he was always trying to look for a mate.” He said as he launched into a story that Alfred probably wouldn’t be too happy with him telling. Well, it was actually several stories of multiple times that he made slip ups when attempting to flirt. 

Ludwig was more than happy to let Feliciano take over with talking. He didn’t want to slip up and say something else embarrassing. He very rarely did make screw ups like that but for some reason Feliciano was making him nervous, which was odd because he had no reason to be nervous. Well, it wasn’t really Feliciano making him nervous, it was just being around him that was doing it to him, which also made no sense. Ludwig had been noticing that he was starting to get that way more around him the more he started to think about the things Gilbert had told him and about the way he and Feliciano acted around each other. 

It was mostly the way he himself acted around Feliciano that made him the most nervous though. The more he analyzed his behavior the more he found himself denying. He denied the way he sometimes caught himself staring at the tiny details of Feliciano’s features, like the sparse freckles that dotted his cheeks and the dimples he had when he grinned. He denied how he allowed Feliciano to get _very_ physically affectionate, even though nobody else in his life had ever really been allowed to be that way with Ludwig before, not even his brother. And he denied the reason he held onto the memories he had of waking up next to Feliciano, with the hazy morning light coming through the window at an angle that made Feliciano’s tan skin glow and the haphazard strands of auburn hair light up and frame his head like a halo. He denied it all because the possible answer to the reason for all of his behavior around Feliciano scared him. Denying it just because it was scary made him feel like a coward but he was more willing to be a coward than think too hard about his relationship with Feliciano.

The two of them continued to walk with Feliciano chattering away about many of the embarrassing things Alfred had done in the past and Ludwig interjecting with a grunt, soft chuckle, or thoughtful hum where needed while secretly obsessing over how to justify his and Feliciano’s relationship as an average friendship. He was just glad that Feliciano wasn’t too good at reading the various reasons that he would suddenly be quiet. Or at least he wasn’t at that point. Ludwig thought that the idea of Feliciano getting that well acquainted with his emotions and how to recognize them was a little terrifying for him. 

Ludwig mindlessly followed Feliciano on numb legs while his brain worked overtime. He didn’t even notice that they had arrived at the previously mentioned barberry patch until Feliciano suddenly exclaimed, “Ve! There’s the stump I marked! We’re just about there now, I can already smell the berries.” 

Ludwig jumped a little and let his gaze flick around as he took in their surroundings. To the right of them was a half rotten stump with a set of claw marks cut through the bark and into the wood beneath. He took a breath through his nose and he could smell the slight twinge of tart berries that have started to ferment on the ground under the distinct enveloping smell of the forest at midday. He grunted his acknowledgment and continued to follow without another word. He glanced up once or twice at Feliciano and he caught him looking back at him with a puzzled or possibly worried expression on his face, Ludwig couldn’t really decide before Feliciano whipped back around to look ahead of them again.

In a matter of minutes they had arrived, Feliciano pushed aside some low hanging branches and shrubs that blocked the way and a small clearing laid ahead of them. “Welcome to my own private berry patch! Good thing too, I’m hungry.” He emphasized his words by licking his lips at the smell of the berries hanging heavy around them and Ludwig thought he could almost hear Feliciano’s stomach grumbling. 

Ludwig couldn’t help but smile a little, Feliciano was always in the mood to eat. He walked past Feliciano and into the clearing to look around. The ground was covered by a bed of plush moss and grass, dried by the summer heat but still green due to the shade of the trees keeping the sun from cooking the natural carpet to a brown crisp. The clearing was edged by the berry bushes, many of which were so laden with ripe berries that they started to drop onto the ground surrounding the bush. 

Feliciano bounced out in front of Ludwig and plopped down to sit criss-cross in front of a berry bush, tearing small handfuls off the bush and shoving them in his mouth with a satisfied hum. Ludwig followed suit and sat next to him with about a foot of distance between them, more than usual. He popped a couple berries into his mouth and the sudden burst of flavor was so intense that it made his jaw ache lightly for a second. They were tart but after a few berries he became accustomed to the taste. 

They ate in silence beside one another for a while before Ludwig noticed Feliciano stop eating and stare at his lap. Ludwig figured he was just thinking about something. That was until Feliciano spoke up, “Ludwig, did I do something to upset you?” He asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Ludwig paused in the middle of bringing a barberry to his mouth and looked over at him, “No, why do you ask?” He replied casually. 

“Well, you’ve just been really quiet today ever since we came into the forest. Actually, you’ve been kind of going into these quiet spells every once in a while for about a week or so. I was just wondering if everything was alright with you.” He said, looking concerned but his glances fleeting like he was worried that he was asking too much or prying too hard.

Ludwig felt a sharp twinge of guilt go through his chest for not only making Feliciano worry but for making him feel like he couldn’t even ask what was wrong. “No, Feli, nothing is wrong. I’m sorry for making you worry, I’ve just been… Thinking over some things and I suppose I keep letting myself get wrapped up in my own head.” He admitted, he didn’t want to tell Feliciano about what he’d been thinking about but he knew that he deserved to at least know why he had been acting so strangely. 

Feliciano looked relieved but still a little worried, “Oh, well that’s better than you being mad at me I guess. What have you been thinking about that has you so distracted?” He asked, popping a few berries into his mouth as he waited for Ludwig to answer.

Ludwig stopped for a second and tried to come up with a lie or an excuse of some sort, glancing around at nothing in particular but mostly things that were anything but the man sitting next to him. “Nothing much, I guess I’m just nervous being in the woods. I’ve never been this far into the treeline, even though I’ve lived here for years.” He lied. 

Feliciano had a skeptical look on his face and Ludwig started to wonder if he knew he was lying but if he did know then he must have decided to drop it rather than confront him on it because he shrugged and swallowed his berries before asking another question. “How long have you and Gilbert even been living here anyway? Antonio told me you came here from the mainland like my pack did and met him when you were younger but he never did say just how young you were.” He turned himself towards Ludwig a little more to listen to him more attentively and pulled some more berries from the bush next to him.

“I was fourteen and Gilbert was seventeen. We came here with some of our grandfather’s money to start up our own livings. We had heard that England had available property in the country after people went off to live in new British colonies. The two of us needed a place to start out on our own and England was fairly close so we took the opportunity.” He explained. Reminiscing about how he and his brother had come to England brought back a flood of memories, both good ones and ones that were less so. 

Feliciano swallowed his handful of berries and appeared thoughtful for a moment, “Alright, but _why_ did you come to England? Were you just sent here by your grandpa so that you could have your own farms or was it for-” He paused, but not for dramatic effect, he put another bunch of berries in his mouth and continued to talk with his mouth full, “another reason?” 

Ludwig sighed and rolled his eyes at Feliciano’s bad table manners, he had seen Alfred do the same thing while eating so he had to wonder whether Feli picked it up from Alfred or vice versa. He was pretty sure Alfred was the source, but it was just a hunch of his. But, the two half wolves’ manners or their lack thereof aside, the question of how he had come to England was one that contained a lot of emotion for him. Just being asked the question dredged up a lot of old feelings he had tried to bury for many years. He furrowed his brows a little but kept a smile on his face so he wouldn’t worry Feli too much. “Well, the main reason we came here was because we had nowhere else to go.” He started, letting himself sink back into some of those old and faded memories. 

Feliciano leaned towards him, propping his chin in the palm of his hand and listening with interest, continuing to eat almost absentmindedly as Ludwig went on with his story. “Me and my brother were living with our grandfather for around two years after our father died of some kind of illness. We never learned what illness it was specifically, we were too poor to take him to the doctor’s. Our mother died giving birth to me and we have very little reliable family to speak of so once father was gone we could only go to grandfather. But he wasn’t any less poor than we were, most likely even more so than we were. He could only afford to take care of us for so long and we ourselves couldn’t find work that would pay well enough to take some of the financial burden away from our grandfather.

“It wasn’t actually him that suggested we try to make our own livings in another country, it was Gilbert. Our _opa_ would never do anything to make us feel like we were burdening him, even if it was obvious. I went along with Gilbert’s plan because it sounded like an adventure to me and anything that could help our grandfather was worth trying. We brought it up to grandfather and he just smiled in a sort of sad way and asked if he could help. He knew that there was no stopping us once we set our minds on doing something. He scrounged up what he had in his savings and sent us off with all the advice he could lend us and all that we had in the way of possessions. And I suppose you know the rest from there.” Ludwig finished and looked back up at Feliciano who looked like he was on the verge of tears, and also still had a mouth full of berries. 

Feliciano sniffled and swallowed, wiping off his nose with the back of his hand, “Oh Ludy, I never knew you were an orphan too. I mean, I kind of wondered because you never talked about having parents but _dio mio_ I never expected the story to be so _sad_.” He shuffled over to Ludwig and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.

Ludwig froze up a little but reminded himself that getting hugged by Feliciano was nothing new and that he was making a mountain out of a molehill. He patted his back consolingly and smiled, “It’s alright, Feli, there’s no need to cry.” Then he realized what Feliciano had said, “Hold on, you’re parents aren’t… With you anymore too?”

Feliciano shook his head and let Ludwig go to he could lean back and wipe his nose again, “ _Sí_ , my mamá and papá are no longer with us. I was too young to know them when they passed, though. There was a big outbreak of some sickness just a few months after we were born. Our mother had a hard time, what with having to give birth to twins and all, our grandpa said that she was still very weak when the disease hit our pack so she was one of the first to contract it. And then our father was around her so much trying to make her feel better that he caught it too. Grandpa still won't tell me and _fratello_ what the disease was like but it took out half of our pack. He still calls us _i suoi miracoli_ (his miracles) because it’s a miracle that we didn’t catch it too even though we were just newborns. 

“That’s the reason we left the mainland in the first place, everywhere we went this disease was spreading through the packs of half wolves living in Europe. We’re lucky we escaped before it spread any further. We still don’t know how many half wolves back home survived, if any. The disease didn’t seem to affect humans though, just us. Grandpa said he never saw any humans have the same symptoms that the half wolves that were sick did. I guess it was just something we were meant to deal with alone.” Feliciano had to stop talking, his voice was getting too strained to get any more words out. He looked like he really tried to hold back the tears but they just refused to be quelled. Wet tracks formed down his cheeks and he covered his mouth with his hand to try and muffle a sob. 

At first Ludwig didn’t know how to react, he was still trying to process the shock and horror of knowing that there was an epidemic that was killing off so many people and yet nobody knew about it. Or at least no human knew about it. The only thing he could think to do was pull Feliciano as close as he could without a word. He pet his hair and rubbed his back, letting him cry into his shirt. 

After a while of Ludwig staying silent in order to allow Feliciano to get it all out, he finally calmed down. Ludwig stayed quiet for a while more, mostly thinking but also allowing Feliciano to have some time to collect himself completely. 

Once Feliciano had decided to pull away from Ludwig’s chest he wiped his face and avoided looking at Ludwig, “Sorry, I really should be used to thinking about all that without getting myself so worked up.” He said, clearing his throat afterwards.

“There’s not need to apologize, Feli. Some things never stop being hard to talk about.” Ludwig replied with a sympathetic smile. 

The two sat in silence for a couple seconds. Feliciano continued to avoid Ludwig’s eyes and fidgeted in place, remaining close to Ludwig but not making any move to back away. Ludwig couldn’t help but roll his eyes a little, he was able to read Feliciano easily, “Do you want to hug me again, Feli?” 

Ludwig saw Feliciano’s cheeks get a little pinker on top of the already present puffiness from crying. He nodded, “Yes but do you think we could lie down and take a nap too? I really just want to… Relax right now, I suppose.” He replied a little sheepishly.

“Why so shy all of a sudden? You usually don’t hesitate when it comes to that kind of stuff.” He asked.

The corners of Feliciano’s mouth started to flick upwards into a hesitant smile, “Well, I guess I was just still thinking about the fact that just now was the first time _you’ve_ been the one to hug _me_ instead of the other way around. I didn’t know if it would be asking too much to want another one after that.”

Ludwig hadn’t even thought about that fact, and when he did think about it he realized that it really _had_ been the first time he had been the one to take the initiative when it came to showing affection. He tried not to let it affect him too much and he ignored how his face was heating up. “I hadn’t even realized it. Don’t worry about asking for too much, just go ahead and ask.” He held out his arms for Feliciano, who took his offer with little hesitation. 

Ludwig laid down on his side on the surprisingly cushy bed of moss with Feliciano, tucking the other’s head under his chin in the way that felt natural to him and sighing out his nose as he attempted to relax. He wasn’t usually able to take naps but he figured he could rest his eyes a bit while he let Feliciano sleep. It took some amount of fidgeting around in Ludwig’s arms and complaining about how awkward it was to nap with clothes on before he seemed to finally decide that he was in optimal napping position. This position happened to be curled up with his nose pressed to Ludwig’s breastbone, his arms pulled against his chest, and both his legs slung over Ludwig’s thighs.

Feliciano’s breathing became fairly even in no time at all and Ludwig was left with his thoughts. He couldn’t get what Feliciano had told him about that sickness out of his head. An entire people left to deal with a veritable plague with no help from anyone at all. Left to die by a people who’d tried to kill them all off in the past and then chose to forget about them like a bad dream. There wasn’t even any guarantee there were more than a few scattered handfuls of them left alive on the mainland. He kept switching between anger and sadness and this nauseous feeling deep in his gut the more he thought about it. Without thinking he mumbled “I don’t know how you’re able to keep yourself from hating me, Feli.” into Feliciano’s hair.

He wasn’t expecting Feliciano’s head to bump him in the mouth as he tried to look up at him, not hard enough to hurt but the sudden movement surprised him into flinching back. “What do you mean?” He asked quietly.

Ludwig flushed lightly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were still awake.” 

“It’s fine, now tell me, what reason would I ever have to hate you?”

Ludwig hesitated and tried to pull all that he was thinking into something that made sense in spoken words. “You and your people have been through so much and humans haven’t so much as lifted a finger to help you. I don’t see how you can keep from hating all humans, let alone be friends with me, Gilbert, Antonio and everyone else. You have every right to be bitter and angry and you aren’t. I suppose I just don’t understand.” He explained.

Feliciano guided Ludwig to look back to his face with a hand on his cheek, “I don’t hate humans because I can’t blame the actions of a few on an entire group. Yes, I admit that I have a lot to be angry over and I can’t say that I haven’t been angry in the past but that isn’t how I want to live. My brother is still learning how to stop being angry, a lot of people in my pack are. I lo-... I’m friends with you because I can clearly see how kind you are and that you’re a good person, it doesn’t matter what you are. You don’t have to worry about me hating you just because you’re human, Ludy.” 

His soft tone made what he said so much more personal, private, almost like pillow talk in how intimate it was. Once he was done talking Ludwig saw a flicker of recognition go over Feliciano’s face and they realized at the same time just how close their faces were. Feliciano’s eyes flicked down to Ludwig’s mouth and suddenly Ludwig’s cheeks felt very, very warm, especially the cheek that was still under Feliciano’s palm. Feliciano leaned in closer with very clear intentions with how his lips were pursed and his head was tilted slightly. Ludwig let him get closer. 

It seemed like Feliciano had second thoughts because just as soon as it seemed like he was going to close the space he backed away and buried his face back into Ludwig’s chest.

Ludwig had a moment of shock before his head was spinning with questions but he didn’t want to ask them, at least not yet. He felt like something had been confirmed with that almost gesture, he didn’t know what and he didn’t know if he wanted to know. He tried to convince himself that he had imagined the whole thing, that he was just projecting his strange wants and wishes onto Feliciano. But based on the way Feliciano’s ears were bright red and the way he seemed to barely dare to breathe Ludwig figured maybe it wasn’t his imagination. He didn’t know what to do with that information. He didn’t know why, under all the uncertainty and confusion making his stomach twist, there was a small buzz of giddy excitement. 

Feliciano wanted to kiss him. It was a thought that a little voice in his brain kept trying to refute the more he tried to mull it over, but each time he did think about it the excuses and “explanations” the little voice gave kept getting more and more outlandish and easier to dismiss. The thought became a fact in his mind. Feliciano wanted to kiss him. And he found that he wasn’t opposed to that fact. And then he found that he wasn’t really opposed to all of the other behavior that him and Feliciano had been displaying that his brother pointed out to him. He didn’t care that they hugged and talked in a way that might be flirting and slept in the same bed every once in awhile. He liked those things they did, and while that little voice was still there telling him that he wasn’t supposed to like all of that, it was quieter and he was able to ignore it like one would ignore the rain tapping against a window at night.

He wasn’t sure why having at least one aspect of Feliciano’s wants being confirmed helped him settle his concerns, at least a little. He was pretty sure it was because Feliciano wanting to kiss him opened up a whole new can of worms for him to ponder over. Was that just a spur of the moment thing or did he have deeper feelings for him? Would he ever try again some other time or was that the only time he would attempt it? Did he stop because Ludwig’s breath smelled bad? There wasn’t any time for unsureness about his sexuality when he had all this new information to mull over.

Ludwig was brought out of his head space by Feliciano squeezing his middle like he was his lifeline. He could feel the hands gripping the back of his shirt tremble. The realization hit him that what Feliciano did was a huge risk, even if he didn’t follow through with it. He must have been nervous as hell, if not on the verge of panicking. 

He didn’t really know how to convince him that it was okay without starting a long and awkward conversation, so instead of using words he wrapped his arms around Feliciano’s back and pulled him tight against his chest. Feliciano let out a heavy, unsteady sigh before he started speaking in a mumble into Ludwig’s chest. “You don’t have to-” 

“Is it okay if we don’t talk about this right now?” Ludwig interjected. “Everything’s okay, I just need to think for a while and… Sort things out in my head.” 

Feliciano fell silent for a short while. “You aren’t mad or anything?” He asked.

Ludwig shook his head, “No, Feli, I promise I’m not. We’re fine. Just give me some time, please? For now we can just… Stay like this. This is good.” He rested his cheek against the top of Feliciano’s head, glad that he couldn’t see how flustered he was. His face was starting to become a forest fire hazard.

He heard Feliciano let out a heavy sigh, like he had been holding his breath as he waited for Ludwig’s answer. “ _Sí_ , this is good.” He paused for a second, “Can I still come around while you’re thinking or do you need some time alone?” He asked cautiously.

“No, I think having you around will actually help me.” He also really didn’t like the idea of not having Feliciano around but he kept that to himself.

Feliciano seemed satisfied with this answer, replying with a small nod. He fidgeted a little before settling down again. Ludwig didn’t know if he was really asleep but he appreciated Feliciano allowing him some time to think. He needed as as he could get, he figured it was going to take a while to decide how to react to, well, everything. 

As he thought he felt an itch on the back of his neck, like he was being watched. He chalked it up to mild paranoia about cuddling with Feliciano out in the open. But he still curled himself protectively around the smaller body in his arms, just to make himself feel better.

In a couple hours clouds started to roll in and Ludwig roused Feliciano so they could start walking back. Feliciano insisted on coming with him on the way back even though Ludwig swore he could find the way on his own. He didn’t protest too much though. He really didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. They reached Ludwig’s house as the sky grew dark grey and after a quiet dinner Feliciano gave him his goodbye kisses on his cheeks and an extra one on his forehead, “for good measure” he claimed. 

Ludwig watched him go a little longer than he usually did and he would have berated himself for acting strangely but Feliciano seemed to have the same problem with wanting to say goodbye as well. He kept glancing over his shoulder at him even as he walked into the tree line. And so began Ludwig’s long night of self reflection and contemplation. He wouldn’t get much sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feliciano’s walk home was… Difficult. This was mostly due to the fact that he kept getting distracted by sudden and overwhelming bursts of emotion at random intervals during his walk. He kept going between viciously berating himself for doing something so stupid, unbearable nervousness, and laying face down on the forest floor so he could quietly scream into the leaf litter. The screaming was because of an odd mixture of embarrassment because he _almost kissed Ludwig_ and this overbearing giddy excitement that made him feel like he was about to float away and burst somewhere high above the ground. All of the emotions felt like they were buzzing around in his ribcage and skull and he was surprised he was able to make any headway towards the pack with how overwhelming it all was. He let himself have his outbursts and then suppressed it all to a dull roar in the background so he could focus on walking until it all came boiling back up.

He probably would have been scared by just _how much_ he was feeling if it wasn’t for how absolutely _exhilarating_ it was and how alive it made him feel. Sure, he was worried about what Ludwig might say when he finally got done mulling things over but he would worry about that when the time came. At that moment all he cared about was that he didn’t really react negatively or outright reject him and that meant that there was a chance.

He found himself humming a nameless tune to himself during the last part of his walk. He could hear the soft, occasional pat of water droplets hitting a leaf in the canopy above him. Then he heard a different kind of pat, the sound of footfalls on leaf litter, and sensed a presence behind him. 

He whirled around to find himself face to face with one of the biggest members of his pack, Emilio. He was a hulking wall of a half wolf with dark hair and even darker eyes and he towered over Feliciano. He stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest and even though he had a smirk on his face his eyes held something dark and terrifying. It made Feliciano feel like running.

“Welcome home, Feliciano. Late coming back, as per usual.” He stated casually. He began to slowly walk in a circle around Feliciano as he continued, “You know, you disappearing every day is bound to cause suspicion. Someone just might follow you to find out where it is you go.” 

A cold spike of fear stabbed Feliciano in the gut. However, he had known Emilio long enough to know that he wasn’t the best of character and he was good at getting information out of people through intimidation and manipulation. He was feared by all the pups in the pack because of his talent for getting them to admit to doing something they shouldn’t have. But Feliciano wasn’t a pup anymore. He kept his face as neutral as possible and straightened his back, “Well, it’s a good thing I haven’t done anything to feel guilty about, now isn’t it?” He replied, turning around to keep facing him as he circled. Around them raindrops started to make their way to the ground.

Emilio’s smirk grew wider and even more frightening than before, “Oh don’t you?” He raised his nose to the air and gave a couple deep whiffs of the air, “I’d know human stench anywhere, Feliciano. Forgot to wash yourself in a stream to get his smell off of yourself today, hm? Tut-tut, you’re usually so careful about it, too.”

Feliciano’s stomach dropped to his feet and there was ice water in his veins. He didn’t dare move, like if he held still long enough the world around him would turn out to be a dream and melt away so that he could wake up back in Ludwig’s arms where it was safe. 

“Well, you wouldn’t have been able to keep me from finding out anyway. I’ve been wondering why you’ve been disappearing all day just to return freshly washed, scrubbed with strong smelling herbs, and well fed. I can’t wander outside of pack territory, I don’t have the alpha’s blood in my veins to protect me from consequences and keep me from having responsibilities to take care of. But it was only a matter of time before you brought your toy into the woods. I didn’t know you had a thing for blondes.” Emilio had an unbearably smug look on his face but his eyes remained cold and calculating, reading every emotion that went across Feliciano’s face.

Inside his head Feliciano look a second to berate himself for making such a stupid mistake before he decided to find out what he wanted. If Emilio wanted to get Feliciano exiled from the pack he would have alerted his grandpa Roma before he had even started walking home from Ludwig’s house. “So, what is it you want from me?” He asked, sounding a lot smaller and more unsure than he wanted to.

Emilio stopped walking and crossed his hands behind his back before rolling his shoulders, the action made the jagged, circular scar that sat under his collarbone on his right side ripple. He told horror stories to the pups about that scar. He claimed he got it from a human’s riffle. He also claimed that it meant no human’s weapon could kill him but Feliciano had always thought that the only reason he was alive was sheer dumb luck. “You’re lucky, I’m feeling very generous today so I’m not going to alert the alpha. Wouldn’t want _nonno_ to be disappointed in his dear grandson, now would we? I’m simply asking that you help me use your relationship with your human to benefit the pack.” 

Feliciano felt his knees shaking like the leaves overhead were as they started to be pelted with rain and all he wanted to do was run as fast and as far as he could but he did his best to stand and face the half wolf in front of him, “What do you mean? Ludwig is just a poor farmer, he has nothing to give us.” He said, trying to downplay Ludwig’s wealth in the way of possessions.

Emilio’s demeanor went from coy but menacing to outright threatening in the blink of an eye, his chin tipping slightly towards his chest and his brown drawing down so he could glare directly down at the much smaller Feliciano. “Don’t you fucking _dare_ try to lie to me, Feliciano. I can smell the pigs he owns on you.” His voice was a dangerous rumble in his chest, verging on a guttural growl. Feliciano tried not to focus on the white flashes of Emilio’s fangs behind his lips when he spoke.

Feliciano swallowed and took an involuntary step backwards, the need to flee was making his throat tight. Emilio continued, “Every pig farmer has more than his fair share of fat sows. Do you really think it would make much of a difference if he… Happened to misplace one of them?” 

Feliciano shook his head frantically, “Y-you don’t understand, those pigs are his livelihood. I could never take one of them from him, he’s worked so hard-”

“That _human_ is living with pens _full_ of livestock while your own pack struggles to keep our children fed!” Emilio interjected, lunging forward to snarl in Feliciano’s face. When he noticed Feliciano trembling he leaned back and took a deep breath with his eyes closed, as if Feliciano was aggravating him. “Listen, do you really think I _want_ to be the one to get the favorite grandson of the alpha exiled from the pack? I’m trying to work _with_ you here, Feli. But I can’t be expected to just keep this kind of secret without something in return.” 

His tone was gentler but Feliciano wasn’t comforted in the least. He wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t know what was happening. Emilio was blackmailing him, plain and simple. And the worst part was there was nothing he could do. He wouldn’t be able to handle being exiled from the pack, just imagining the disappointment on his grandpa’s face alone was enough to break his heart. Not to mention the fact that Romano would be left all alone. The whole pack would be forced to move again to avoid the possibility of being hunted down if word got out of their existence. And when they did move they would leave Feliciano behind. “So you want me to ask Ludwig if we can have one of his pigs?” He asked quietly.

Emilio chuckled, “No no, I wouldn’t want to put you into an even more awkward spot, now would I? I’m simply saying that maybe one night you… _Accidentally_ leave the gate to one of the pig’s pens and let me and a friend or two take care of the rest.” 

“You want me to help you _steal_ it!?” Feliciano squeaked. He shook his head, “Please, don’t ask me to do this to him, he’s my friend! I can’t-”

Emilio interrupted him again, “Easy, easy, he’ll never even know you were involved. Besides, what’s just _one_ pig out of a whole farm? Don’t you have faith in your friend’s ability to handle a loss? For all he’ll know it was an accident, hell, I’ll even bust up the gate in a way so that he thinks the pig escaped on it’s own. All he will know is that one of his animals have escaped while you were away and all the pack will know is that we have a few hundred pounds of pig meat from an unlucky but very plump “wild boar”. You’ll be responsible for putting food into the mouths of the entire pack.”

Feliciano stared at his feet. There was no doubt in his mind that if he refused that Emilio would go straight to his grandpa and tell him everything. But keeping his secret would mean betraying the best friend he’d ever had and the only person he’d ever had feelings for. 

“So,” Emilio pulled him away from his thoughts again, leaning in closer to his face with a predatory grin, “What will it be, Feli?” The rain came down on them from above and ran down Feliciano’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> My first work in the Hetalia fandom, I hope you guys enjoy =w= Leave any comments you have, any praise or constructive criticism is welcome. My tumblr is [here](http://thecatinthepurplepants.tumblr.com/) so follow me if you feel like it, I'll probably be posting updates to any of my works on there as well so you can follow for updates (or for my shit posting). Have a nice day~


End file.
